


Hot for Teach

by floweringlight



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Romance, F/M, Female My Unit | Byleth, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Golden Deer Route Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:06:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 39,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27373171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floweringlight/pseuds/floweringlight
Summary: The Church of Seiros may have conscripted Jeralt and Byleth into service, but Byleth will do things her own way-including saying no when it counts.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 140
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Escopeta](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Escopeta/gifts).



> “I think of all the education that I missed  
> But then my homework was never quite like this”

Byleth stretched, yawning. She sleepily rubbed her eyes, looking around her familiar environment. “Still dark,” she mumbled, about to return to slumber. 

“Good. You’re awake,” her father said, entering her room. “Did you have that dream again?” 

Byleth stared at him, blinking. “Both of them, I think.” 

Jeralt shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, kid. Just get ready to move out. We’re heading to the Kingdom today. You do remember it’s cold there, don’t you?” 

“Of course,” Byleth replied, pulling on her coat. “Be right there.” 

Jeralt looked at her clothing choices and shook his head. “Good grief. You’ll freeze in that. Put on something warmer, hey?” 

Byleth tilted her head and said, “I’ll be too hot on the battlefield if I put on warmer clothes.” 

Jeralt sighed, palming his face. “All right. But if you get frostbite, it’s on you.” 

A member of their crew entered, apologizing for intruding. “We have a problem,” he said. 

“What’s wrong?” Jeralt asked, crossing his arms. 

“You’ll see.” Father and daughter followed their crewmate outside where three young people stood. 

“They’re just kids,” Byleth thought. “Why are they all the way out here?” 

The blond one bowed. “Our apologies, but we need assistance.” 

Jeralt frowned. “What are a bunch of kids like you doing all the way out here so late?” 

“Our camping trip went awry,” the blond one said. “Bandits attacked us and we three were separated from the others.” 

“What? Bandits?” Jeralt asked, bothered. 

“It’s true, sir,” the girl replied. “They attacked us while we slept. “ 

“They probably thought we would be easy pickings, being the inexperienced nobles that we are,” added the green-eyed boy. “If you helped us out, I’m sure you would be compensated handsomely.” 

Byleth observed the trio, curious. “They seem competent, despite what they say.” 

“You’re very calm for such a dire situation,” Jeralt prodded suspiciously. “How do we know you’re not leading us into an ambush?” 

The green-eyed boy smirked. “You don’t.” 

“What he means is,” the girl interrupted, glaring at her comrade, “you’ll have to trust we’re telling you the truth.” 

The blond bowed again. “Our lives are in your hands.” The other two rolled their eyes. 

“Hmm,” Jeralt said, looking them over. “I’ve seen those uniforms before.” 

One of Jeralt’s men ran up, panting. “Bandits approaching the village,” he said. 

“Arm up,” Jeralt commanded. “We can’t leave the village defenseless.” Byleth nodded, patting the sword at her hip. Jeralt looked at the teenagers and said, “Are you coming? You’re responsible for what happens if these bandits get through me.” 

The three nodded firmly, hefting their own weapons in reply. 

“Let’s go,” he said, waving Byleth forward. “Remember what to do?” Byleth drew her sword, her lips set in a straight line. 

* 

The leader of the bandits rushed at the girl. Byleth leapt in front of her to absorb the blow. Time stopped. 

“You absolute fool!” scolded a little girl. “Have you no value for your own life? Or mine?” 

Byleth blinked. “I don’t understand,” she said, looking around. “How did I get here?” 

The girl reclined back into her green throne. “Honestly,” she scoffed. “If I had not intervened, we both would have died. I need you, fool.” She flipped her hair back and stood up. “I am Sothis, also known as the Beginning.” 

“Thank you, Sothis,” Byleth said. 

“You are welcome. Please refrain from making such a stupid mistake again.” 

“Now what?” Byleth asked. 

The little girl huffed. “When time resumes, you will die. Do you want that?” 

Byleth shook her head. “If you can stop time, then can you also rewind it?” 

“Yes...” she said slowly. “I can do that.” She scowled. “Why is it so hard to remember?” Sothis leaned her head on her fist. “Ah!” She pointed to Byleth. “I am not strong enough to go back far. You will have just enough time to block the axe. Try not to make the same mistake, hmm?” 

“Yes, Sothis.” 

“Good. I hope to not see you here again.” 

Pressure built up as Byleth returned to reality. This time, she faced the bandit with her sword, disarming him. She kicked him back, pushing the girl farther behind her. “What-” the girl whispered. 

“Hey-” called out the green-eyed boy. “Over here!” The blond boy joined him as they came closer. 

Jeralt crashed through the underbrush on his horse. “Are you okay?” he asked, concerned. “I thought-” 

More crashing, from a different bearing, startled the group. Everyone pointed their weapons in the direction of the sound. A boisterous voice called out, “Do not worry, students! The Knights of Seiros have come!” The three teenagers put their weapons down. Jeralt and Byleth remained alert. A short, stocky man rode in on a horse. “You’re not bandits,” he observed. Recognition dawned on his face and he shouted, “Captain! You’re not dead!” 

“No, but I wish I was,” Jeralt muttered. Byleth glanced at her father. She tapped him on the elbow. “I’ll explain later, kid.” Jeralt turned to the knight and scowled. “You’re as observant as ever, Alois.” 

The stocky man guffawed. “I knew you were alive! Not even death could get one over on the Captain!” 

“These your brats?” Jeralt asked, gesturing to the teenagers. 

“They’re students at Garreg Mach, yes,” Alois replied. “You should help us escort them back! Lady Rhea will want to thank you.” 

“There’s no escaping now,” Jeralt said softly, gazing at Byleth. 

Alois followed his gaze and asked, “Oh? Is this your child?” 

Jeralt stepped back, allowing Byleth to answer. “I am a bandit,” Byleth answered, testing the knight. 

Alois burst into laughter, slapping Jeralt on the shoulder. “Great sense of humor, that one! She takes after you, old man!” 

Jeralt eyed Alois with distaste. “Yes, well, I better round up my crew.” 

“I’ll come,” Alois said. “I’d love to catch up.” 

Jeralt shot Byleth a pleading look. She shrugged, letting Alois tag after her father. “Seiros...” said a sleepy voice. Byleth jumped, looking around. “It’s me, buffoon!” Byleth’s shoulders sagged. “You can’t be rid of me that easily. Now, shoo! I believe those three are trying to catch your attention.” 

Byleth sighed and walked over to the three nobles. “Yes?” she asked, sheathing her sword. 

“Thank you for saving my life,” said the girl, bowing. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Edelgard von Hresvelg, crown princess of Adrestia. I owe you a debt, allow me to repay it by offering you a place by my side.” 

“Now, Edelgard, that is hardly proper,” the blond protested. “After all, we all owe her a favor for rescuing us from those bandits.” He bowed. “Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, crown prince of Faerghus, at your service.” 

The green-eyed boy tsked. “Such ill manners, both of you! Personally, I was going to wait to befriend her before plying her with demands.” 

The three bickered and Byleth followed their dialogue with her eyes. “It is clear they are all taken with you,” Sothis said. “What do you think of them?” 

“I feel like prey under Edelgard’s predator gaze,” Byleth answered. “And Dimitri seems too perfect, like he’s hiding darkness underneath.” 

“And the third?” Sothis prodded. 

“He seems the most dangerous. He’s all smiles but would gladly stick a knife in his enemy’s back to gain the advantage. He never told me his name.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to know them better on your walk back to, what was the name of that place again? Garreg Mach?” 

Byleth blinked, refocusing on her surroundings. “Kid, you ready?” Jeralt asked, peering at her face. She nodded crisply. “All right. Let’s go.” 

* 

Byleth kept alert, her eyes flicking towards the trees and her ears listening for foreign noises. Only the natural sounds and sights of a forest in spring greeted her. Dimitri leaned into her vision, smiling at her. 

“No need to worry,” he said. “I will show you around the monastery when we arrive.” 

Byleth opened her mouth to explain she wasn’t nervous, but Claude interrupted. “It’s a place you can see the entirety of Fodlan. People from all walks of life are there. Of course, not all of it’s good.” 

“She’ll see for herself soon enough,” Edelgard interjected, annoyed. She pointed. “Look, there it is.” 

Byleth’s eyes widened as she took in the sight of the fortress before her. “This is a church?” she asked, surprised. Byleth caught up to Jeralt, tugging on the hem of his sleeve. 

He clenched his jaw. “She’s here.” 

Byleth tilted her head, waiting for an elaboration. None came. Byleth looked up as they passed through the gates. A green-haired woman looked down from a balcony. Her smile unsettled Byleth. 

Alois ushered them through the Entrance Hall. “Wait here while I find a place for your people to stay,” he instructed. “Students, with me. Seteth will want a report.” 

“When doesn’t he want a report?” Claude muttered. Byleth’s lips twitched. He glanced at her, an eyebrow raised. She blinked at him. His eyes narrowed, studying her face. 

“Come on, Claude,” Edelgard huffed, tapping her foot. “Let’s not keep Seteth waiting.” 

He turned around and followed the other two, but not before looking back at Byleth one last time. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A butterfly flaps its wings. Fates have changed.

“Father, are we in danger?” Byleth asked, her voice low. “You have not stopped clenching your hands since we arrived.” She leaned back on her heels as they waited in the Audience Chamber for Lady Rhea. 

“I used to work here, for Lady Rhea as Captain of the Knights,” Jeralt replied, sighing. He ran his hand backwards through his hair. “I...left. Being here reminds me of the past, that’s all. Promise me you won’t trust her.” 

“Okay,” Byleth nodded. “I’ll be careful.” 

Jeralt patted her on the shoulder, concern wrinkling his face. “Good. I don’t know what she will ask of you, only that I am to rejoin the Knights. Just remember you have a choice.” 

“Are we...prisoners?” 

“More like,” Jeralt rubbed his chin, thinking. “Conscripts.” 

“I see.” Byleth stood up straighter, seeing people enter the room from the corner of her eye. 

Jeralt gripped her shoulder. “Remember what I told you,” he whispered, standing to attention. 

“Hello, my name is Seteth. I assist the Archbishop,” the green-haired man said, bowing crisply. 

“Hi,” Jeralt said. Byleth bobbed her head. 

“It has been a long time, hasn’t it, Jeralt?” asked the green-haired woman Byleth saw yesterday. 

“It has,” Jeralt replied. 

“The miracle of fatherhood has blessed you, I see,” the woman said, inclining her head towards Byleth. 

“Yes. She was born after I left the monastery. Her mother passed, unfortunately.” 

“My condolences.” The woman looked at Byleth, studying her. “I am Lady Rhea, archbishop of the Church of Seiros. And you are?” 

“Byleth, archbishop,” Byleth replied, bowing. 

“A fine name.” Lady Rhea smiled knowingly. She looked at Jeralt. “You already know what I wish to ask you.” 

“If I must,” Jeralt replied, resigned. 

The Archbishop frowned. “It is a great honor to serve the Church,” she reprimanded. “Surely you have not forgotten?” 

“I will do it. But leave my kid out of it,” he said. “She doesn’t know anything about this place.” 

“I had hoped to ask Byleth to join the teaching staff and guide our students this year,” Lady Rhea said. She turned to Byleth. “You will make a fine teacher, Byleth. Alois has sung your praises.” She waited for an answer. 

“Forgive me, archbishop, but I cannot,” Byleth said, bowing. 

Rhea’s eyes flashed angrily. “Do you understand the honor being afforded you?” 

“I do. But I must refuse.” 

The Archbishop scowled. She opened her mouth only for her assistant to interrupt her. 

“Archbishop Rhea,” Seteth hissed. “Surely you would not put someone unqualified into a teaching position!” 

“Precisely,” Byleth agreed. 

“See? Even she acknowledges her insufficiencies.” He stopped, looking at Byleth, confused. “I’m sorry?” 

“I am a mercenary,” Byleth said. “I do not possess the training to teach students. If you are determined to keep me here as a professor, Lady Rhea, I propose a counter-offer.” 

“No one is being forced here against their will,” Rhea said serenely to Seteth, glaring at Jeralt. 

“Is that so?” Byleth asked. “Then I shall take my father’s mercenaries elsewhere.” Byleth bowed, turning to leave. 

“Wait!” Rhea cried. “What is this counter-offer?” 

Byleth turned around. “If I must stay, let me learn to teach as a teacher’s aide. I will receive the proper training, and if my progress satisfies you all, then I will teach the next year. Otherwise, I will go with my father’s mercenaries and continue working for coin in the way I know how.” She stared evenly at Rhea. 

The Archbishop’s nostrils flared and her mouth tightened, the only indicator of her feelings. “Seteth,” she said, turning to her advisor. “What house would you choose to teach?” 

“Me? Teach?” Seteth sputtered. “I already have duties that occupy my time, Lady Rhea.” 

“The Cardinals can share your load,” she replied. “We are short a professor, and you have the qualifications necessary. Byleth will need someone responsible and trustworthy to guide her. Surely you would not place that burden upon Professor Manuela or Professor Hanneman’s shoulders?” 

Conflicting emotions ran across Seteth’s face as he faced an impossible decision. Eventually, he bowed. “Very well. I will teach.” He looked at Byleth. “If you would be my assistant?” 

“Of course,” Byleth agreed. “I look forward to learning from you.” 

Seteth cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Lady Rhea, I will discuss the students with the other Professors and make my decision then.” 

Rhea nodded sagely at him. She looked at Byleth and said, “My child, go mingle with the students and introduce yourself. Some will be your classmates for the year.” 

Byleth looked to Jeralt, waiting for his cue. He jerked his head out the door. “Go on, kid. I’ll show you around later.” She nodded and bowed to the Archbishop, dismissed. 

* 

Byleth thoroughly explored the area directly below the Audience Chamber, starting with the Reception Hall. She bumped into Edelgard while there. “Your Highness,” Byleth bowed.

“It’s Edelgard, please,” the princess requested. “I heard you will be joining us as a professor?”

“Uh, no,”  Byleth corrected. “I made Lady Rhea aware of my deficiencies. I will be a teacher’s aide instead. I suppose that makes me a sort-of student.”

“Good,” Edelgard said, smiling. “Allow me to introduce you to the Black Eagle students. Come.” Edelgard dragged  Byleth by the elbow to the classrooms. 

There,  Byleth met Edelgard’s retainer, Hubert. He coolly looked her over. “You don’t look like much,” he said. “Yet Lady Edelgard sings your praises.”

Byleth shrugged. “I’m a mercenary. I’m good at fighting. A bad mercenary is a dead one.”

“We shall see,” he murmured. 

Edelgard apologized for Hubert’s poor reception. “He is overprotective of me. It is his role. Someday he may accept you, but I think you would need to be a Black Eagle for him to fully trust you.”

“I don’t know what class I’ll be in. It’s whatever Seteth decides.”

“Oh?” Edelgard’s eyebrow raised sharply. “He will be teaching?”

“When I suggested a teacher’s assistant position, Lady Rhea asked him to teach instead. I don’t think he wanted to, but she didn’t really give him a choice.”

“Hmm,” Edelgard said. “It is very difficult to tell the Archbishop no. I am amazed you managed and remain unscathed.”

“She’s not that scary, is she?”  Byleth asked. 

“Scary? No,” Edelgard scoffed. “She is secretive and does not tolerate contradiction.”

“I don’t know much about the Church,”  Byleth admitted. “Father kept us away from it.”

“As you learn more about the Church, I hope you keep your mind open and wary.” Edelgard pulled  Byleth around the classroom, introducing her to the other nobles. She stopped in front of a buxom brunette. “And of course, our famous commoner, Dorothea Arnault. She sang at the Mittlefrank Opera, like one of our professors.”

“Charmed,” said Dorothea, shaking  Byleth’s hand. “I hope to see you around more. We could use more common blood here.”

“I’ll go wherever I’m told,”  Byleth said. “But I do hope to know everyone better.”

“Have you met our Blue Lions yet?” Dorothea asked. “There are a few good-looking nobles there. Unfortunately, there’s also the skirt-chaser. Stay away from that one.” She rolled her eyes. “He thinks he’s so special.”

“I’ll do my best to remember that. I should go meet them. It was nice to make your acquaintance,”  Byleth said. She waved good-bye to Edelgard and stepped out onto the grass. She spotted Dimitri almost immediately. He was leaning against a tree, trying to appear nonchalant. He stood up straighter when he saw Byleth. 

“Ah, Miss Byleth!” He waved her over. “Please, allow me to show you around.”

“Thank you, Prince Dimitri, but my father wants to do that later. Could I meet your fellow Lions instead?”

“Of course!” His face brightened, then sank. “I must apologize in advance for one of my classmates.”

“The skirt-chaser?” Byleth asked.

“I see his reputation precedes him.”

“One of the Eagles told me about him. Is he really that bad?”

Dimitri grimaced. “Sylvain is a good friend. Unfortunately, his tastes for women and men often override his sense. He will likely make a pass at you.”

“I can handle him.”  Byleth said confidently. “My father taught me how to stop unwanted advances.”

Dimitri opened his mouth and then thought better of it. “Try not to hurt him too much.”  Byleth nodded and followed him into the Blue Lions classroom. 

“Why, hello,” said a tall redhead. “Welcome.” He bowed, flashing a charming grin. “Sylvain Jose Gautier at your service.” 

Dimitri sighed, shaking his head. “This is the one?”  Byleth asked, looking at the prince. 

“Yes. Again, apologies.”

“Have you been telling lies about me, Your Highness?” Sylvain teased, winking at  Byleth . “Whatever you’ve heard, I’d be happy to correct any misconceptions. We can meet later, say, in my room?” He wiggled his eyebrows. 

Byleth blinked at him. “Not interested.”

“You wound me, milady,” he said, grabbing his chest and staggering backwards. “A fatal blow can only be healed with true love’s kiss!” He puckered his lips.

“Does that line usually work?”  Byleth asked, unimpressed.

He stood up, laughing. “Sometimes.” A hand reached up and grabbed his ear, yanking. “Ow! Ingrid!” he yelled, windmilling his arms. 

“Leave her alone, Sylvain, or I’ll make you pay on the training grounds.”

He sulked. “I was only fooling around.”

“That’s precisely the problem,” she scowled. “Can’t you be serious for once?”

“But I am serious, Ingrid,” he protested. “Serious about love.” He grinned, blowing  Byleth a kiss. “Ow! Ingrid! I’m sorry! Stop hitting me!”

Byleth shook her head and went to meet the other students. She was impressed with  Dedue’s size and calm. And Annette and Ashe were sweethearts, setting off  Byleth’s protective instincts. She liked Mercedes, who smelled of baked goods and vanilla. 

“You,” commanded a sharp voice, drawing her attention.  Byleth looked the teenager over. He tapped his toe impatiently. “I heard you’re good with a sword.”

“I am,”  Byleth replied, evaluating him. 

“We’ll see. I can’t wait to toss you in the dirt during a spar.”

The corner of  Byleth’s mouth lifted slightly. “Cocky, aren’t we.”

His hand went to his sword. Dimitri swooped in. “Felix,” he warned. “There will be time for sparring later. For now, could you please remember your manners and greet Miss Byleth.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Felix spat, stalking off. 

“Sorry,” Dimitri apologized. “He can be quite prickly.”

“It’s fine,”  Byleth said. “I wasn’t offended.”

“Right. Ah, I suppose you’ll be meeting the Golden Deer next?”

“Yes.”

“They’re...lively,” Dimitri said. 

Byleth nodded. “Thank you for your time, Prince Dimitri.”

“It’s just Dimitri,” he said quickly, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. “Please.”

“All right. See you later, Dimitri.”  Byleth walked off, not missing Sylvain’s wolf whistle as he admired her bottom. She heard him squeal, presumably because Ingrid had hit him again. Her mouth twitched. 

“If the Golden Deer are lively, what does that make the Blue Lions?” she wondered. 

Byleth nearly tripped over a hidden Claude, who was leaning against a pillar, twirling an arrow. “Hey,” he said, smiling. “You should be more careful.” He reached out a hand to help her up.

“I usually am. Do you normally lie in wait for passerby?” Byleth retorted, dusting off her clothes.

“Just for you,” he said, winking.

“Please,”  Byleth sighed, closing her eyes. “I just met Sylvain.”

“ Ooo , ouch. Sorry,” he apologized. “I’ll tone down my charm.”

“I appreciate it,” she replied.  Byleth waited for him to say something. He seemed like the type of person to always have a quip ready.

“Would you like to meet the rest of the Leicester Alliance?” he finally said, restraining himself.

“That would be nice,”  Byleth agreed. 

“Come on,” he said, waving her in. “Hey Hilda, c’mere.”

“Who is this?” said a bubbly girl, looking  Byleth over. “You look super strong!”

“Thank you?”

“Can I feel your muscles?”

Byleth hesitated, unsure. “Personal space, Hils,” Claude said. “She just met you.”

The girl giggled. “Sorry! I don’t usually see someone as pretty as you with such definition.”

“You’re teasing me,”  Byleth stated.

“No! I’m serious! Like, Leonie has amazing biceps, but she’s kind of plain. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Leonie. But she could learn to accessorize.”

“Hilda,” Claude said warningly. 

Her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m sorry! I’m usually not this rude. Here, let me introduce you to my friend Marianne!” Hilda dragged  Byleth by the hand over to a meek blue-haired girl. “Marianne, this is  Byleth ! Isn’t she strong?”

“Oh, um, I guess?” Marianne said quietly. “Nice to meet you,  Byleth . I’m, um, not very good at making conversation.”

“Me either,”  Byleth told her. “Don’t worry. We can be quiet together.”

Marianne shyly smiled at her. “That sounds nice.”

Byleth nodded and Hilda pulled her away to introduce her to Ignatz and Raphael.  Byleth found them amusing. One, large and boisterous, the other small and anxious. They complemented each other as only good friends could. Then there was Lorenz.  Byleth held back a groan. 

“Miss  Byleth , a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said, bowing over her hand. “I am Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, heir to the Alliance.”

“I thought Claude was the heir?”  Byleth asked. 

Lorenz sniffed. “For now. But I will astound the other lords of the Roundtable and they will give me the vote of confidence instead.”

Byleth slowly nodded, backing away. “Does lunacy run in noble families?” she wondered. 

Claude came up behind Lorenz, clapping him heavily on the shoulder. He smiled, showing all his teeth. “Now, Lorenz, you know that’s not going to happen. You’re scaring  Byleth with your delusions of grandeur.”

He sputtered. “Delusions! I, how dare!”

Claude guided  Byleth away, stopping next to an orange-haired girl. “Leonie, I have someone you’ve been dying to meet.”

Her head snapped in his direction and she exclaimed, “Captain  Jeralt ? Where?”

Claude chuckled. “Oh, sorry, not him. I meant his daughter.”

Leonie frowned a little. “How come I’ve never heard of you? Your dad is famous, you know.”

“Perhaps you’ve heard of the Ashen Demon?” Byleth asked. 

“So? Is the Ashen Demon better than  Jeralt the Blade Breaker?” She folded her arms and shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Byleth pressed her lips together. For some reason, this girl irritated her. “And how do you know my father?” 

“I’m his greatest apprentice,” she bragged. 

Byleth blinked. “I didn’t know he had one,” she said. 

Leonie bristled. “Just ask him! He’ll tell you all about me.”

“Very well. I will.”  Byleth nodded tersely at the younger woman. “It has been interesting to meet you, Leonie.”

Claude nervously laughed, ushering  Byleth out of the room. “That was the Golden Deer for you!” He smiled anxiously. “Don’t hold it against Leonie.”

“I’m sure she’s a fine person,”  Byleth said. “We merely butted heads.”  Byleth offered her hand to Claude. He took it, shaking her hand. “You seem to have a lot on your plate. I know I’m only going to be a teacher’s assistant, but I hope we can work together. It really depends on where  Seteth goes.” 

Claude choked. “Seteth?” 

“Didn’t you know?”  Byleth asked, eyes widening. “He is going to teach instead of me.”

Claude let out a small curse. “I really hoped it’d be you.”

“Sorry,”  Byleth apologized. “I told Lady Rhea that I couldn’t, due to my inexperience.”

He bit back a laugh. “She took that well?”

“Not really. But she still got what she wanted, I think.”

Claude hummed. “She often does.” He glanced at her. “I hope  Seteth chooses us then. Studying with you would expand our horizons.”

“I guess we’ll see,”  Byleth said, waving good bye. “See you around, Claude.”

His eyes narrowed in determination. “See you around, Byleth.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, though, please suggest titles for this fic. "Hot for Teach" is just a crack filler. And for the record, I like Leonie. But she initially rubbed me the wrong way until I saw her other supports.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of class

Byleth met Jeralt for lunch in his office. She ate her sandwich slowly, looking around the room. 

“Nice, isn’t it?” he asked, leaning back in his chair. “A very comfortable prison.” 

“I thought you said we were conscripts?” 

Jeralt laughed, throwing his head back. “You’re really funny sometimes, kid.” 

“But I was serious,” Byleth sulked. She took another bite of her food. “I met some girl today. She said she was your apprentice?” 

“I can’t remember ever having an apprentice,” Jeralt mused. “Alois was a squire, and he doesn’t count.” 

“She’s an orange-headed girl, favors you. Says you’d tell me all about her.” 

Jeralt rubbed his chin. “Where’s she from?” 

“The Alliance. I didn’t catch the name of her village.” 

“Wait,” he said, tapping his mouth. “I think I know who you mean. Lenore? Leonora? Something like that?” 

“Leonie,” Byleth supplied. 

“Yeah. That’s it. Leonie.” He shook his head. “She wasn’t an apprentice, just some nosy kid who kept following us around. I taught her a few things to keep her busy. Glad she made something of herself.” 

“Why don’t I remember her?” 

“Eh,” Jeralt said, rubbing the back of his head. “I think you were sick. You never met her.” 

“Anyway, she’s annoying,” Byleth said, munching down on the bread. “Jeralt this, Jeralt that. I hope I don’t have to hear that all year.” 

“Chew with your mouth closed,” Jeralt reminded absently. He picked up a piece of paper. “Seteth wants you to fill this out for his class records. He’ll stop by in a bit with some handbooks for you.” 

“Did I mess up?” Byleth asked, scrunching her mouth. “Should I have just left?” 

“Nah,” Jeralt said. “I’m proud of you. Besides, I’d rather you stick around. I’d be lonely without you.” 

“Dad,” Byleth said, rolling her eyes. 

“You’re awfully expressive today,” he observed. 

Byleth shrugged. “Maybe it’s all the people I met? They’re characters. Did you see the noble with the hideous haircut? Or the short one who keeps overcompensating for his height?” 

Jeralt chuckled. “This year certainly has a few with a flair for the dramatic. Good luck, kid. You’ll need it.” He reached across the table and ruffled her hair. 

Byleth swatted his hand back. “Cut it out, dad! The other kids will think I’m soft.” 

Jeralt smirked. “That’s because you are.” 

Byleth looked away, crossing her arms. A knock on the door shook them out of their banter. “Come in,” Jeralt said. 

Seteth entered, carrying two books and a folded-up uniform. “For you, Miss Byleth.” He explained each item as he handed them to her. “A student’s handbook, a teacher’s handbook, and your uniform. Read the student’s handbook and the section in the teacher’s handbook on teaching assistants. I’ll have more uniforms sent to your room tomorrow, but this should do for now.” Seteth eyed Byleth’s outfit with mild distaste. “What you’re wearing breaks several dress codes.” 

Byleth’s mouth turned downward slightly. “Fine.” She snatched the uniform out of his hands. “Am I supposed to wear it now?” 

“For class tomorrow, please.” 

“All right. If I have questions about the handbook, how should I contact you?” 

“Write them down and we’ll adress them in the morning.” 

“Good.” Byleth sighed. “What class am I in?” 

“Could you handle the Golden Deer?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “They have quite a few challenging students, but that’s good if you’re intending to learn how to teach.” 

“I liked them,” Byleth said simply. “The purple one, though...” 

“Ah, the Gloucester heir.” Seteth shook his head. “We’ll work hard to impress upon him what true nobility is. I’m afraid his father has put too many lofty ideas into his head.” 

Jeralt coughed into his hand, interrupting them. “That’s all said and good, but does she get paid?” 

Seteth tsked. “Of course. She receives a small allowance for her work. It’s a pittance compared to the teacher’s salary. However, since she will be a student here, those fees are waived. It’s a compromise, I’m afraid.” 

“Sounds okay to me,” Jeralt grunted. “Take care of her, will you?” 

“Of course,” Seteth sounded affronted, as if his honor was questioned. “Byleth, would you like me to show you to your room?” 

“Sure,” she shrugged. “See you later, dad.” Byleth picked up her sandwich and followed Seteth out the door. 

* 

Byleth sprawled out on her new bed, slinging an arm across her face. “How am I supposed to memorize all this tonight?” she groaned. “This sucks.” 

An eerie giggle startled Byleth. She shot upright, ready for a fight. “Have you forgotten me already?” asked Sothis, appearing. “Rude.” 

“Oh. It’s you.” Byleth laid down on the bed again. “What do you want?” 

“I’m bored. All these rules make my head spin.” 

“Are you reading my mind?” Byleth asked, her eyes narrowing. 

Sothis rolled her eyes. “We are as one. I hear everything you hear. What you think, I know.” Sothis poked Byleth in the chest. “Should you ever start feeling more strongly, I will also experience your emotions.” 

“Great.” 

“Sarcasm does not become you,” Sothis said primly. She hovered over the side of the bed. “Are you prepared for what tomorrow will bring?” 

“No.” 

“Do not worry,” Sothis consoled. “I will help you. Try not to jump out of your skin the next time I speak.” 

“I’ll do my best.” 

“Good.” Sothis yawned. “All this reading has made me sleepy. Good-night.” She disappeared. 

“I should go to bed too,” Byleth muttered. She kicked off her shoes and slid under the covers. “Good-night, Sothis.” 

“Sweet dreams,” Sothis laughed. 

* 

Byleth woke with the rising sun, yawning. She dressed into her uniform, deciding against the headband provided. She also chose to wear her familiar boots instead of the new shoes. “Not breaking those in today,” she muttered, glaring at the brogues. Byleth gathered her handbooks and raced to the Dining Hall. 

She dutifully waited in line, mulling over her breakfast choices. “If I were you, I’d avoid the pancakes,” Claude advised, coming up behind her. “Annette cooked today.” 

“Do students usually take a rotation in the kitchen?” Byleth asked, choosing a safe plate of eggs and bacon. She ignored the closeness of his body. Byleth understood Claude enough to know he was testing her. 

“Nah, just the ones that like cooking. Though I really don’t know why Annette is still allowed after she exploded the flour a couple days ago.” 

Byleth whipped her head around and truly looked at him for the first time that day. He wiggled his eyebrows. “It’s true. She’s a fantastic mage, but a disaster around baked goods.” 

“I’ll remember that. Thanks for the tip.” 

Claude bowed. “You’re welcome.” He followed Byleth to a table. She groaned inwardly. “Have you found out which class you’ll be in?” 

“Yes,” she said, setting her food down. Byleth left the table to pick up a mug of black tea. 

“Not a morning person?” he asked, peering into the mug. 

Byleth grunted. “Mornings are fine, once I’m awake.” 

He laughed. “You’re funny, Teach,” he said. Claude waited for a reaction. 

“I’m a teacher’s aide. That nickname doesn’t fit.” 

“Sure it does,” he grinned, leaning his chin into his palm. “Same letters, just shorter.” 

Byleth said nothing, lifting her food to her mouth. She ate quickly. 

“Slow down,” Claude said. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?” 

“Class,” Byleth replied, taking a gulp of her tea. “I have questions about the handbook. You ask a lot of questions.” 

“I was born with an uncurable disease,” he joked. 

“You should have a healer look at that,” she deadpanned. “It’s unhealthy.” 

He laughed again. “I hope you’re with the Deer. The year will be boring without you.” 

Plate and mug empty, Byleth stood up. “You’ll find out soon enough.” She discarded her dishes into a washtub and left, taking the long way to the classroom. Byleth knew Claude would tail her. She wanted to see how skilled he was. 

Halfway to the stables, she spotted a glint of gold. “He’ll have to hide the earring if he wants to remain stealthy,” she thought. “I’ll tell him later.” 

Byleth sprinted through the gardens, zigzagging through the gates. She turned into the courtyard that led to the classrooms and ducked into a bush. Claude ran past, panting. “Where’d you go, Teach?” he whispered, looking around. Byleth bit her mouth shut to stifle a giggle as he walked right by her hiding place. He groaned. “She’s good.” 

Byleth waited until he left and then walked into the Golden Deer classroom. “Good morning, professor,” she said. 

“Good morning, Miss Eisner.” Seteth briefly looked up from his papers then looked again at Byleth. “Did you sleep outside?” he asked, confused. 

Byleth patted her head, pulling out a leaf. “Oh no. I was shaking a tail.” 

“I beg your pardon?” Seteth said, blinking. “Are you all right? Should I call a knight?” 

Byleth shook her head. “I am fine, Professor. It was Claude. He wanted to know which class I was in.” 

Seteth pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why didn’t you tell him?” 

Byleth shrugged. “It’s more interesting if he doesn’t know everything.” 

Seteth’s mouth tightened. “Please refrain from doing that again. Lady Rhea would be most displeased if you, or any of the students, came to harm because of a prank.” 

“Is that in the handbook?” Byleth asked. “I brought notes of my questions.” 

“It is not, but it is courteous,” Seteth said, annoyed. “Bring the papers here.” He stuck out his hand. 

Byleth handed him the handbook. “I found it easier to write notes in the margins.” 

He yelped. “We do not write in books!” 

“Why not?” Byleth tilted her head. “That is how I learned.” Seteth turned around, pressing his fingertips together. “Professor?” Byleth said. “Is something wrong?” 

Seteth turned back to face Byleth, plastering a patient smile on his face. “I have my work cut out for me, that is all.” 

They spent the remaining time going over Byleth’s annotations. Seteth wrote his and her names on the chalkboard. “One more thing, Miss Eisner,” he said as she sat down at a desk. “You may be deficient in your knowledge of history or religion, but I expect you to train these students to fight well.” 

“Of course,” she said, bobbing her head. “Am I allowed to fight dirty?” 

Seteth opened his mouth and thought better of it. “The battlefield is not an honorable place. While sparring, you may do so in order to teach your fellow students what to look out for. However, I hope in tournaments I do not see such things from you.” 

“Understood.” 

Byleth spent the rest of her time marking up her annotations where Seteth had clarified things. A thump on the bench next to her informed her that Claude had arrived. He grinned at her. 

“What gave me away?” he whispered. 

“Your earring,” she replied, tugging on it. “If you must wear it, at least dull the shine with some mud.” 

He winked at her. “Noted. Great job, by the way.” 

Byleth shushed him as the rest of their class entered. Hilda exclaimed her surprise at the new additions. 

“Everyone, please sit down,” Seteth requested. “Many of you know me as Lady Rhea’s advisor, but this year your class will also call me Professor. In addition to this change in position, I would like to introduce Miss Eisner, who will be joining us as my aide for the year.” He indicated Byleth should stand, so she did, looking around. 

Leonie scoffed, whispering to Lysithea, who rolled her eyes. Marianne attempted a small smile but hid her face immediately. Hilda’s eyes twinkled and Byleth felt oddly nervous. Raphael pumped his fist and Ignatz gave her a small wave. Lorenz sniffed. 

“Should any of you have questions and I am unavailable, Miss Eisner will assist you. However, you are not to take advantage of her by making her do your assigned tasks.” Seteth looked steely at Lorenz, who quickly looked down at his desk. 

“Additionally, we will go on missions assigned to us by the Church to help those less fortunate or in need. Miss Eisner will not fight for you. She will fight with you. Do not confuse the two.” He placed two hands on the desk. “I anticipate a fruitful learning experience for you all. Do not disappoint me.” Hilda shrank into her seat, groaning. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title suggestions anyone?
> 
> Also, I have no idea how much I will change things in this story, but things will change because Byleth isn't a professor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flayn uses puppy eyes. It's super effective! Byleth gives lessons on fighting. Sylvain teases Felix.

“Pardon me, Miss  Byleth ?” asked a green-haired girl. She looked familiar. “May I have a moment of your time?”

“Sure,”  Byleth said, casting her line. “How can I help you?”

The girl sat down next to  Byleth on the pier. “My name is  Flayn . I am  Seteth’s younger sister.”  Byleth nodded. “Perhaps he has mentioned me?”

Byleth shook her head. “Been too busy to discuss anything other than classwork,” she grunted, focusing on her fishing rod. 

The girl sighed. “He always does that. Too busy for this, too busy for that.” She pouted, crossing her arms. 

“Did you need something?”  Byleth asked, pulling back as she felt something tugging on the line. 

“Oh, yes!”  Flayn clapped her hand over her mouth. “I have a favor to ask.”

“I’m not doing your work for you,”  Byleth replied, removing the fish from the hook. She dropped it in the bucket next to her.

Flayn shook her head. “You misunderstand me. I have plenty of idle time on my hands. That is my predicament. I admit to feeling lonely on occasion. However,  Seteth does not permit me to join the class. He says he is protecting me from bad influences. I want to sit with my peers and learn!” The girl huffed. “I am old enough to discern for myself who has ill intent and who does not!”

“How exactly can I help?”

Flayn grasped  Byleth’s arm, tugging eagerly. “Please convince him to let me in his class.”

“Why would he listen to me? I’m just the teacher’s aide.”

Flayn frowned. “That had not occurred to me.”

Her genuine eagerness for a social life, while foreign to  Byleth , touched her heart. “Look, I’ll bring it up.”

Flayn clapped. “You will? Thank you!” She stood up and skipped away. “I anticipate great things, Miss Byleth!”

Byleth shook her head. “Maybe I can catch bigger fish now that she’s gone,” she thought. “What a chatterbox.”

When the bells rang for supper,  Byleth packed away her fishing gear and headed to the dining hall. She sat down at a table, jotting notes on paper as she read her textbook. “Some of this stuff makes no sense,” she complained quietly. 

“Can I help?” Claude asked, sliding into the bench next to her. 

“Is this going to be a habit?”  Byleth retorted, scooting away to have some personal space. 

Claude shrugged. “Since you’re new to things, I thought maybe you’d want a friend to help.” He bit into an apple, chewing noisily on purpose. 

“You use the term friend very loosely,”  Byleth observed. 

Claude smiled, but there was no mirth in it. “An acquaintance, then.” He took another bite of his apple. “We should work together, you and me. I am the class leader, after all.”

“True,”  Byleth replied, spearing a bite of fish. “But don’t think this means you can peek at your grades.”

Claude raised his hands defensively. “I would never!” he protested.  Byleth raised one eyebrow. He laughed. “All right, you got me. I probably would. So,” he leaned to look at her notes, “trying to understand local politics?”

“I don’t want to make mistakes,”  Byleth said. “Lorenz cares a lot about protocol.”

Claude rolled his eyes. “He can stuff that up his pants.”

“If I have to work with him, or anyone else like him, it does matter. I want everyone’s respect, or no one will listen when I give commands on the battlefield.”

Claude stretched. “When you put it that way...” He pointed to one of her notes. “That’s wrong, by the way.”

“But the book says-”

“The book is wrong. Trust me, okay?”

“Honest?”  Byleth asked, studying his face. 

“I wouldn’t lie to you, Teach,” he swears. “Not when it matters.”

“You just said this didn’t matter,”  Byleth said suspiciously. 

“It matters to you. Ergo, it matters to me.”

“Why do you care so much?”

Claude leaned on his fist, studying her face. “I have lofty ambitions. I think you could help me reach them sooner. I want you on my side.”

Byleth stood up. “As long as they are worthy ambitions, Claude.”

He smiled softly. “They are. I promise.”

“All right, then. I have a meeting with  Seteth to plan the Inter-house battle. If you have free time in two hours, I would appreciate you explaining some of this book to me.”

He grinned. “No problem, Teach. Can I look at the battle plans too?” 

“It wouldn’t hurt,” she shrugged. “See you later.”

“See you,” Claude waved as she walked away. His eyes narrowed in thought.

*

“Professor  Seteth ,”  Byleth said, knocking on his office door. “I am here.”

“Excellent,”  Seteth murmured, scribbling down notes on parchment. “Come on in.”

Byleth sat in the empty chair across from him. She took out a map and note paper. “Before we begin planning, may I ask you something?”

“Of course,” he said absently. 

“Why isn’t your sister  Flayn in class?”

Seteth’s head jerked up. “How do you know about Flayn?”

“She introduced herself to me earlier.”

He relaxed. “Ah, yes. She did express interest in meeting you.”

“She seems pleasant,”  Byleth said. 

“ Flayn is a very sweet young woman,”  Seteth replied. “But her innocence would allow many to take advantage of her. I would like to protect her from that as long as I can.”

“Then,”  Byleth said, tapping the quill against her lips, “would it not be better if she was in class? You could supervise her more easily and watch those she forms friendships with.”

He sighed, chagrined. “If I am there, she will not form any  attachments . She accuses me of being overbearing.”

“I can accompany her instead. I will not report to you her friends, but I can make sure she does not fall under the influence of unsavory people.”

“Why are you concerned with my sister’s personal life?”  Seteth asked, narrowing his eyes.

“She mentioned feeling lonely and bored. Someone her age should be around more people. She will not learn who is safe and who is not if she stays locked away,”  Byleth said. 

“You have made some persuasive points,”  Seteth grumbled. “Very well. I will consider allowing her to join the Deer.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”  Byleth bobbed her head and then picked up the map. “I brought the map of the terrain because I am unfamiliar with the area. Is that okay?”

“Yes. I applaud your preparation.”

Byleth’s mouth curved upward at one corner. “I usually am thinking ahead. All this,” she waved abstractly around the room, “was thrown at me with no notice.”

Seteth chuckled. “Yes. It was hasty of Lady Rhea, wasn’t it?” He frowned. “I honestly don’t know what she was thinking. I looked over your paperwork and you’ve hardly filled anything out.”

Byleth shrugged. “Dad doesn’t keep track of things very well. Sometimes he forgets birthdays.”

Seteth shook his head disapprovingly. “Professor Hanneman will want to see if you have a Crest. They are his specialty.”

“I don’t know what that is,”  Byleth said. 

Seteth sighed. “To keep the explanation short, because I know Professor Hanneman will ramble on, Crests are gifts of the goddess bestowed upon those she has blessed. They augment a person’s strength, magic, or other characteristics. A person with a Crest can use a special weapon, called a Relic. Anyone without a Crest will be unable to use a Relic. It is important we know if a student has one in order to prevent misuse of a Relic.”

“I. ..see ?”  Byleth said slowly. “If it doesn’t hurt, I don’t mind Professor Hanneman looking at me. But now I really want to go over this mock battle we have to fight.”

*

The next morning, a new student joined the Deer. Rather unwillingly,  Seteth introduced his sister  Flayn . “Please take care of my sister,” he said. “I will know if you treat her poorly.” He glared at Claude, who pointed to himself quizzically. 

“Hello, everyone,”  Flayn chirped. She flounced over to sit next to  Byleth’s unoccupied side. She excitedly tugged on  Byleth’s sleeve. “It worked!” she whispered. “Thank you!”

Byleth nodded, refocusing on the chalkboard.  Seteth began drawing formations. “We have set these up for the mock battle tomorrow. In one  hour we will go to the training ground to practice. Please pick your preferred weapon.” The hour flew by.  Seteth dismissed them to practice with their weapons. 

Byleth evaluated her fellow students, correcting Ignatz on his footing and showing Raphael how to narrow his exposed areas when he brawled. Surprisingly,  Flayn did well with a lance. “Seteth must have taught her,” Byleth thought. 

She watched Marianne struggle with the bow and tapped her gently on the shoulder. “If I may?” Marianne handed Byleth the bow. The older woman put it away and brought over a different weapon. “This is better suited to you.”

Marianne hesitated. “I don’t know...”

“You use magic, right?”

“Yes.”

“Some weapons, like swords or lances, can direct magic as well. I don’t know how, since I’m not a magic user, but I have seen people cast ice or lightning while wielding a weapon.”

“I see.” 

“Can I show you how to hold it?”

“Please,” Marianne whispered. She shakily held the lance.  Byleth gently slid Marianne’s hands into the proper position and said, “This is how you hold it to block.” She moved Marianne’s hands again. “This is how you hold it to thrust.”  Byleth took the lance and scooted Marianne’s feet out. “You want a wide and low stance, or anyone can knock you over.”

“I understand,” Marianne said softly. “Some spells are like that.”

Byleth nodded. “Good. Try practicing with that and see if it’s better than the bow you were using.”

“I will. Thank you.”

She watched Claude alternate between a bow and an axe, nodding approvingly. She frowned at Hilda, who lounged on the  sidelines. “What weapon are you using?” she asked. 

“A dainty girl like me?” Hilda gasped, offended. 

“You had enough strength to drag me around yesterday,”  Byleth reminded her. “Surely you can lift a weapon.”

Hilda huffed. “If I have to fight, then I can use an axe.”

“Show me.”

Hilda tossed her hair, annoyed. “Fine.” She picked up her axe and swung it at Byleth, who dodged. 

“Not bad,”  Byleth said. “Work on your speed and no one will be able to withstand you.”

“But I don’t want to fight,” she whined.

“You think I was given a choice?”  Byleth asked, crossing her arms. “It was fight or die. You might find yourself in a position like that one day. I hope you never do. But in case, I want you to be excellent at your weapon.”

Hilda whimpered, picking up her axe again. “I guess.”  Byleth ran her through a few drills before leaving, satisfied. 

“Good job,” she said, patting the younger woman on her shoulder.

Hilda wiped her forehead. “ Ew . I’m all sweaty!”

“You’ll get used to it,”  Byleth replied. She glanced over at Leonie, who had decent form, and Lorenz, who did not. “I see someone else in need of help,” she muttered. 

Byleth walked over to Lorenz. “Do you see how Leonie fights?” she asked. 

“There is no grace or finesse,” Lorenz sniffed, “unlike me.”

“If you’re referring to your showy weapon-handling, allow me to demonstrate how that is ineffective.”  Byleth drew her sword and struck at him in three places. “You’d be dead now. You leave too much open for an enemy weapon. Fix it. If you need help, Leonie is more than capable of showing you.”

“But, but,” he sputtered. 

“Would you like me to ask  Seteth to come in here and show you? Or my father? Either one of them will be harsher than I was just now.”

Lorenz hung his head. “I do not understand. I was taught by the finest lancer.”

“Then your education was lacking. What you were doing looked beautiful, but on the battlefield it would be useless.”  Byleth called Leonie over. “Would you be willing to spar me with lances to show Lorenz how to fight properly?”

The other girl grinned. “I’ll beat you, too.”

“Perhaps,”  Byleth said, readying a lance. She nodded. “Proceed.”

Leonie instantly tested  Byleth by thrusting and sweeping the lance. Used to such tricks,  Byleth avoided the other’s weapon and showed her a new technique of her own.  Byleth allowed Leonie to block her strike, choosing to use that to her advantage. With a smooth hooking motion,  Byleth went under Leonie’s lance shaft and pushed it up and out of her hands. 

Awed, Leonie begged, “Show me how to do that!”

“Sure. After we show Lorenz how to fight properly.” The rest of  Byleth’s afternoon was spent unlearning Lorenz’s bad habits. She did manage to find some time before the end to ask Lysithea to try a different weapon. “You’re too short for a bow,” she said. 

Lysithea bristled. “I can still use one.”

“Of course. But you would be even more effective with a sword.”

Lysithea scowled. “A bow works. Why should I change?”

“Have you ever seen a Levin sword? I have. They’re devastating in the hands of a talented mage.”

“Could I use one?”

Byleth nodded. “They’re hard to find, but if anyone could procure one, Professor  Seteth could. To use one, however, you’d have to work with an ordinary sword first. Levin swords are not heavy, but you need strength and stamina to wield them.”

Lysithea nodded, thinking. “I will try a sword then.”

Byleth nodded approvingly. “Good choice.”

*

In the morning, Claude sat next to  Byleth at breakfast. Again. “We have to stop meeting like this,” she deadpanned. 

“I wanted to ask about the battle today. What sorts of advantages will we have over the other classes?”

“Me,”  Byleth said. “Professor  Seteth decided I should join the field in his place. I have the most battle experience. Other than that, if Hilda actually cooperates, we could win.”

“Hypothetically, if I were to give us an advantage by slipping certain herbs into the other students’ food, how much trouble would I be in?”

“Claude.”  Byleth stared at the green-eyed teenager. “Tell me you didn’t poison the food.”

“I did not poison the food,” he said.

Byleth groaned, covering her face. “What did you do?”

“Nothing, honest!” he replied. “I just wanted to know if that was on the table.”

“We do not poison our classmates,”  Byleth said. Her lips turned slightly downward. 

“Even Lorenz?”

Byleth looked at him, shaking her head. “Not even Lorenz.”

Claude pouted, sticking out his lower lip. “You’re no fun, Teach.”

“I’m not here to have fun,” she said, finishing up her food. 

“That’s exactly the problem,” Claude told her. “You need to loosen up.”

Byleth shook her head. For some reason, those words terrified her more than the thought of Claude playing with poison. “See you in class, Claude.”

He winked at her. “I won’t bring the poison.”  Byleth smacked her forehead, hoping no one else heard him.

*

“And the winner is...The Golden Deer!”  Jeralt announced, smiling proudly at  Byleth . Her fellow students cheered. Claude pulled everyone into a victory hug.  Byleth tried to hide her discomfort. This was the most she’d ever been touched before. She popped out of the group hug and snuck away.  Byleth found a quiet place to sit and observe the other students. 

The Black Eagles looked particularly upset. Edelgard wore a perpetual frown. Hubert stood behind her, a menacing shadow to anyone who dared approach. Ferdinand looked embarrassed.  Byleth turned her head the opposite direction and watched the Blue Lions. Dimitri seemed disheartened. Mercedes comforted an upset Annette. Felix was busy kicking a squealing Sylvain. She bit back laughter, remembering why he was angry. 

She should apologize to Felix later. He wouldn’t have had a bloody nose if she had been able to pull back when she realized he wasn’t going to block in time. Sylvain witnessed his friend’s failure and unwisely teased him. “I know she’s hot, Fe, but really? A bloody nose?” Sylvain shook his head. “Pervert.” 

Byleth paid him back for the comment, striking him painfully in his stomach. “You could use some practice,” she told him. “A child could have blocked that blow.” 

Sylvain clutched his stomach and wheezed, “What a woman.”

“Yes,”  Byleth thought. “I owe Felix an apology. Maybe he’d like to spar later.”

“ Byleth ?” Marianne said, sitting down next to her. “What are you doing over here?”

“Too many people,”  Byleth murmured. “I’ve never been one for celebrations.”

“Me either,” Marianne replied. She dug her feet into the ground. “Still...it was nice. I’ve never been included before.”

Byleth looked at her, laying her chin on her arms. “Same here. People are scared of me.”

“I’m not,” Marianne whispered. She looked at her hands. “I know what a true monster looks like.”

Byleth reached out her hand. Marianne slowly took it. “You are not a monster, Marianne. I don’t know why you think that, but it is not true.”

Marianne blinked back tears, standing up suddenly. “We should go back,” she said, pulling her hand away. “Claude wants to celebrate in the Dining Hall.”

“Did I say something wrong?”  Byleth asked. Marianne shook her head. 

“Um. What you said was nice. I have trouble believing it, but it was nice.”

Unsure of what to say or do,  Byleth let Marianne walk ahead to join the others. She slowly trudged behind, thinking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't wait until the next chapter. It's going to be so much fun!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with the problem of transfers

At breakfast, instead of her usual companion, a different person slid into the seat next to her. “Hey,  Byleth ,” said the smooth voice of  Garreg Mach’s playboy. “I’ve been thinking of transferring to the Golden Deer. After all, you said I needed practice.”

“ Seteth deals with transfers, not me,”  Byleth mumbled, eating. 

“But you could, maybe, put a good word in for me?” He smiled charmingly at her. 

“Why would I?”  Byleth stood up, finished with her food. 

“Because I’m devastatingly handsome?” Sylvain asked, winking. 

“You’ll have to do better than that. Fill out your paperwork like everyone else, Gautier.” She walked away. Sylvain sighed, pining. 

Felix hit him on the shoulder. “Quit staring.”

“Have you ever seen such a statuesque woman?” Sylvain replied, ignoring the pain in his shoulder.

Ignoring his friend’s stupidity, Felix shoveled food into his mouth. He stood up and began to leave. 

“Where are you going in such a hurry?” Sylvain asked, grabbing Felix’s wrist. 

Felix shook him off. “I have some paperwork to turn in.”

“What paperwork? Hanneman said our homework was due tomorrow.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Transfer paperwork. You think you’re the only one who wants to join the Golden Deer?”

Sylvain gaped, stunned. “Wait a minute,” he stammered. “How many people are turning in transfer requests?”

“Me, Ashe, and Mercedes from the Lions. I don’t know about the Eagles.”

Sylvain cursed, tripping over the bench in his scramble to leave. He shoved Felix aside. “Sorry, Fe. Hos before bros!”

“You’re the ho, Sylvain!” Felix yelled, chasing the redhead. 

*

Seteth stared at the voluminous stack of papers shoved onto the top of his desk. “What happened?” he asked, looking for clues. “Where did all these forms come from?”

Byleth entered, chewing on an apple. She swallowed. “Are those the transfer requests?” 

“Pardon?”  Seteth asked, taken aback. “Surely not.”

Byleth ticked back her fingers, recounting the morning to  Seteth . “Today I had Felix, Ferdinand, Dorothea, Ashe, Mercedes, Caspar, and Sylvain ask me about transferring. I told them you handled that.” She shrugged. “I guess they filled out the papers already. That was fast.”

Seteth sputtered. “We cannot take all these students into our class! It would be impossible to squeeze everyone inside a single room, let alone give each student the proper attention!”

Manuela burst into  Seteth’s office, scowling. “How dare you!” she yelled, shaking her finger at the man. “Poaching my students! Do you think that little of me?” Utilizing her operatic training to its fullest, she projected, “I am a capable instructor and I will not be insulted!”

Hanneman knocked, entering. “Can you explain why I had four students request transfer papers this morning?”

Manuela gasped. “You too?” The two professors glared at  Seteth , who sat down slowly. 

“There appears to be a mistake,” he said. “I have not been recruiting among your students, nor have I been approached by any.  Byleth , do you know what is happening?”

Byleth leaned against the wall, taking another bite of her apple. “I guess they liked how well we fought?” 

“I know for a fact that Sylvain is not requesting a transfer because you fought well,” Hanneman scoffed. Manuela snickered. 

“I simply cannot accept all these students,”  Seteth said. “I will have to reject these requests.” He frowned. “Unless any of you have solutions?” The other two professors shook their heads.  Byleth chewed quietly, thinking. “Very well,”  Seteth said, picking up the pile of papers. “Consider these forms voided.” He dropped the stack into a wastebin, satisfied by the dull thud noise it made. 

“Won’t they keep trying to transfer?”  Byleth asked. 

“Perhaps,”  Seteth frowned. “However, we simply do not have the resources or room to teach them all.”

“Rotate the classes,”  Byleth said eventually, wrapping her finished apple core up in a dirty rag. “You all have your specialties. Teach those.”

“Excellent idea,” Hanneman said, brightening. “All our students will receive a balanced education between the three of us.”

“What about the other two days?” Manuela demanded. She looked at Seteth. “Surely you don’t intend to teach for only three days?”

Byleth spoke up. “Throw them all into the training grounds with me.” She bared her teeth in a semblance of a smile. It unnerved the three professors. “I guarantee after two days of fighting with me they will have no energy left to make trouble on their day off.”

Seteth nodded. “We will have Alois and Jeritza join you on those days.”

She shrugged. “If you think that will help.”

“Very well,”  Seteth agreed. “And to alleviate your burden, Hanneman, I shall allow the Gautier lad to join the Deer.” He held out a finger. “Only because I believe it will be easier on all of us if I have the two troublemakers.”

Sothis appeared, falling onto her back as she laughed hysterically at  Seteth . “Poor fool!” she giggled. 

Byleth mentally shooed the young girl away. “Not helping,” she thought.

*

The desk in front of  Byleth tilted as Sylvain leaned forward on it. “Good morning, gorgeous,” he winked. 

Claude reached past her and put his hand on the redhead’s face, pushing Sylvain away. “Personal space, Sylvain,” he reminded. 

Byleth sighed, moving Claude’s arm out of her face. She concentrated on the chalkboard, recording the posted information about Church history. A folded-up paper distracted her, landing in the middle of her notes. She brushed it aside, continuing to write. Another folded paper joined the first.  Byleth gritted her teeth, ignoring Sylvain’s attempts to talk. Claude kept scooting close, looking around her shoulder to glare at Sylvain. 

After the tenth folded paper,  Byleth whipped out her knife and stuck it in the bench by Sylvain’s thigh. She repeated the action, inserting her dagger between her leg and Claude’s. “Personal space,” she hissed.

Until the lunch break, the two young men behaved. Byleth stood up, yanking her weapons out and reholstering them. “Want to eat lunch with me?” Sylvain asked eagerly. 

“She’s eating with me, like she always does,” Claude replied. 

“Actually,” she said, turning around with her hands on her hips. “I’m meeting my father for lunch today. If either of you want to join me, you’re welcome to. Otherwise, leave me alone.” She stalked away, feeling a headache coming on. 

“Not used to the attention?” Sothis teased. 

“Not this kind of attention,” she scowled.  Byleth snuck a peek back to see if either noble was following. To her immense gratitude, they let her go. “I’m talking to  Seteth about this later.”

“That’s no fun,” pouted Sothis. “I liked the knife barrier. It was quite effective.”

“I doubt the Church wants me destroying  furniture .”

Byleth flung her father’s office door open, surprised to see Leonie already seated in her spot. “Hey,” she said to Leonie. 

“Hi,” she said, narrowing her eyes at Byleth.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to eat lunch, but I see you already have company,”  Byleth told Jeralt. 

“Do you mind if Leonie joins us for lunch?” he asked, inviting  Byleth to sit down. 

“Not really. I’m not in the mood to talk, though.”

“I saw,” Leonie laughed. “You have your hands full with them today.”

“Ugh,”  Byleth uttered, flopping backwards into a chair. “What’s with them?”

“Them?”  Jeralt asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Claude and Sylvain,” Leonie offered helpfully. “Claude sits by  Byleth every day, but today Sylvain joined the Deer and decided to sit with her too.”

“I feel like a favorite toy,”  Byleth muttered.

Jeralt cracked his knuckles. “Would you like me to talk to them?”

Byleth shook her head. “I’ll deal with it. And if they don’t listen to me, there’s always Seteth.”

“If you’re sure,”  Jeralt said, concerned. 

“I’ll ask you for help if I need it,”  Byleth replied. She looked at Leonie. “What do you want to eat?”

Leonie shrugged. “I’m not picky.”

Jeralt stood up from his desk. “I’ll bring the food. The special today okay with you two?”

“Sure,” Leonie shrugged. 

Byleth nodded. “Thanks.”

Jeralt shot a look at  Byleth . “Behave,” he commanded. She rolled her eyes.

“Class going okay for you?” Byleth asked. 

Leonie rubbed the back of her head. “I’m having some trouble with my horse,” she admitted. “He’s real ornery.”

Byleth covered her mouth, looking away. 

“What’s so funny?” Leonie crossed her arms. 

“I was thinking of that saying. You know, “Like calls to like”?”

Leonie scowled. “Ha. Ha. Funny.”

“Sorry. But Marianne might be able to help,”  Byleth offered. “Want me to ask her for you?”

“Nah, I can handle it. Thanks.” She gave a small smile. 

*

The pile next to  Byleth’s seat grew as Sylvain continued to pass her unread notes. At the end of the week, she swept all of them into a wastebin, ready to throw them into a fire. Claude stopped her. “I have a better idea.”

“What?” she asked suspiciously.

He laughed. “Don’t look at me like that. I promise it’s a good one.”

“Tell me,” she said, holding the wastebin close. 

“Let’s answer them. I’ll tell you what to write and then we dump the whole pile at his door.”

“Won’t that encourage him?”

Claude shook his head. “I think he’ll get the message.”

“All right,” she said reluctantly. “We’ll try it your way. If it backfires, you’re facing the consequences.”

He shrugged. “Fair enough. Come on.” 

They walked to her room and poured the notes out on her floor. Claude opened one and wheezed with laughter. He stuck his hand out, offering it to her. Confused,  Byleth took it. 

It read: “Shall I compare you to a summer’s day? You are more lovely and temperate.”

“I don’t understand,” she said, a small frown on her face.

Claude smirked. “Clearly he has never seen a real summer. Describe the summer to me.”

Byleth thought. “Hot, sweaty, thirsty, lethargic, cranky.”

“Exactly,” he grinned. “Just write and ask him if he means that you make him feel lethargic. I bet that takes the wind out of his sails.”

Byleth took his suggestion, and every one after. Soon they had a pile of finished replies.  Byleth stuffed them all into a small bag and hung it on Sylvain’s door. 

“I only wish I could see his face when he reads them,” Claude said gleefully. 

“ It better work,”  Byleth said. “If it doesn’t, I’m taking it up with  Seteth . It’s harassment.”

“It will work. Sylvain knows how to take a hint.”

Byleth cracked her knuckles. “He better,” she said darkly. “Or we’re doing this my way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not super happy about how this chapter turned out. I rewrote the second section five times. Ugh.
> 
> Seteth only thinks there are two troublemakers. He doesn't know about Linhardt's grave-robbing tendencies. Or about the Ashen Wolves, really.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seteth is unhappy

Sylvain looked at his door, confused. “What is this?” He poked the bag, hearing a rustling inside. “Paper?”

Before he could open it, Ingrid snatched it off the door. “Not so fast, Sylvain,” she said, sticking out her tongue. “These might not be love notes. Better let me check them first.”

“Wait,” he said, reaching out. Felix blocked him. 

“She’s right,” he grunted. “You don’t need to read hate mail. Even if you do deserve it.”

Ingrid pulled out a folded note and read it. Her eyes grew big and she laughed. “What is this?” She shoved the note at Felix. “Check this out!”

Felix scanned the paper and smirked. “Here,” he said, handing it to Sylvain. “It’s not  hate mail.”

Ingrid snickered, letting Sylvain have the bag. The redhead, perplexed, began reading. “Wait, I wrote this,” he said. 

“Not the bottom half,” Ingrid replied, pulling more notes out. “I’m gonna read the rest.”

“What? No!” But he was too late. Ingrid and Felix began alternating notes, reading them out loud for the whole second floor to hear. 

“Did you really write this corny shit?” Felix asked, shaking his head. “No wonder  Byleth ignored you.”

“You know I was just playing around,” he protested. “Come on, guys! Stop!” His pitiful whining only spurred them on. Ingrid, reading a new note, doubled over with laughter, almost choking on air.

“You said, and I quote, “Kiss my lips away, lips that are promised to you.”” Ingrid wheezed, overcome by its cheesiness. Felix gagged. “And then whoever wrote this replied, “With your lips gone, will you finally shut up?””

Sylvain flushed, finally recognizing the writing under his. “I see. Looks like  Byleth read my notes after all.”

“You wrote these to the Ashen Demon?” Felix yelled, incredulous. “How are you still alive?”

Ingrid punched him. “You’re such an idiot, Sylvain.”

“I know,” he said, ducking to avoid another blow. “I’ll apologize tomorrow. Happy?”

Felix crossed his arms. “You know, you’d be a lot happier if you quit thinking with your dick.”

“But I like my dick,” Sylvain quipped, shrieking as Ingrid chased him out of the dorm. 

“You won’t after I cut it off!” she yelled. 

*

Rhea called  Seteth to her Audience Chamber. “ Seteth ,” she greeted with a nod of her head. “Have all your students acclimated to the curriculum?”

He curtly nodded. “Have you this month’s mission?” 

“But of course,” she said, smiling serenely. “This month the Golden Deer will eliminate some bandits camping out at Zanado.”

“What?” he gasped. “This is outside normal  parameters for a class mission!”

“I have the highest confidence your class can handle this challenging task.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “Unless you think it wise to allow these bandits to run unchecked? The same bandits, may I remind you, that attempted to harm our own students?”

“Of course not!” he said. “I merely think sending these teenagers against a bandit camp for their first mission is a bit much.”

“They have  Jeralt’s child,” she replied, turning around to dismiss him. “That will suffice.”

Refusing to leave,  Seteth shook his finger at her. “You put too much faith in that young woman. Why is she so important to you?”

Rhea whirled around, eyes flashing with anger. “Do you not trust me?”

“I trust you. But I cannot keep  Flayn safe if you put the entire class in danger.”

“You give her too little credit,” Rhea responded. “But if  Flayn’s safety concerns you, she may stay behind with me.”

“Very well,”  Seteth replied, voice clipped. “But know I protest heavily at this change in procedure.”

“Your concerns have been taken under consideration,” she said, dismissing him with a wave of her hand. 

Seteth left, frowning deeply. Claude ducked out from behind a pillar. “Interesting,” he said. He rushed off to find Byleth. 

*

Sylvain waited for  Byleth outside the classroom and caught her elbow as she started to walk inside. “Can I have a minute?”

Byleth pulled her elbow out of his grasp, assessing him coolly. “One minute,” she agreed. 

“I wanted to apologize,” he began sheepishly. “The notes were dumb and immature. I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”

“Good,”  Byleth replied, turning to the door. 

“Wait,” he cried. She paused, raising her eyebrow. “What did I do wrong? You’re the first person I haven’t been able to win over.”

Byleth shook her head. “That is the problem, Gautier. I may not be a professor, but I still have some authority over you. It is inappropriate for me to encourage romantic pursuits.”

“ So you’re saying there’s a chance?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“No,” she replied. “As long as you continue to treat romantic parners like disposable items, I am not interested in pursuing a relationship of any kind with you. And I know you’re better than what you say you are. I’ve seen your papers. You’re wasting a fine mind.” She poked him in the chest. “We’re going to be late for class.”

He scowled. “You’re not better than me.”

“I never said I was,” she replied calmly. She opened the door and ushered him inside. “After you.”

*

Claude tapped his foot, waiting for lunch. He needed to tell  Byleth what he heard. There was no way  Seteth would tell her the whole truth about their class mission. Everyone else was quite excited at the prospect of fighting bandits, but  Byleth narrowed her eyes at the news. When Seteth dismissed them for lunch, Claude said, “Join me today, Teach?”

Her lips tightened for a second before she answered, “Sure.”

He smiled. “I know a nice quiet eating spot. We have a lot to discuss.”

“We do.”

Byleth picked up her lunch, a nice roasted rabbit with vegetables, and followed Claude to a secluded corner of the monastery past the Knight’s Hall. She waited for him to be seated and then asked, “What’s up?”

“Did you know about the mission?” He gazed at her, looking for signs of lying. 

“No,” she said. “Professor Seteth told me he received it this morning and that we were fighting bandits. Why?”

“That wasn’t the mission we were supposed to have,” Claude told her, leaning back. “ Seteth argued with Lady Rhea. I happened to be walking by when they were discussing it.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Uh-huh,” she murmured in disbelief. 

He smirked. “Needless to say, students don’t usually tackle bandits as their first mission. Especially not the ones that tried to kill me, Dimitri, and Edelgard earlier this year.”

“Wait, what?”  Byleth furrowed her brow slightly. 

“ So he didn’t tell you. Interesting.” Claude took a bite of his food, waiting for a reaction. 

“I thought we dealt with those bandits already,” she mumbled. “Did I make a mistake?”

“Nah,” he said, taking a drink. “They slipped past the knights when they crashed into our rescue. No one’s fault but theirs.”

Byleth’s mouth turned downward. “Still. To withhold that from me, at least, is unsettling.”

“That’s not all,” Claude said, leaning closer. He lowered his voice. “Lady Rhea seems to have a high amount of trust in you. Any ideas why?”

Byleth shook her head, clenching her fist. “I don’t like how she looks at me,” she whispered. “Like I’m a thing to possess.”

Claude swallowed, looking away. He put his arms behind his neck and leaned back again. With a false smile, he said, “She won’t try anything funny with your father around.”

“That’s what worries me,”  Byleth admitted. “As Captain of the Knights, he will be sent out on dangerous missions frequently. One day he might not return.”

Claude’s eyes narrowed. “Then we make sure he always has someone watching his back.”

“How?”

He shrugged, winking. “I have my ways.” He took another bite of his food, chewing slowly. “Hey,  wanna bite? This is good!” He offered her a bite of his lunch, waving the fork tantalizingly in front of her face.

She shook her head. “Thanks, but mine will suffice.”

He chuckled. “Have you never swapped food with anyone before?” He reached his fork out for a small carrot. She bared her teeth at him. He withdrew his hand quickly. “Territorial, are we?” Claude winked. “We can work on that.”

He shuffled so he sat next to her and opened up a notebook. “Why do you have that?” Byleth asked. 

“To discuss the mission,” he said. “Obviously.” They spent the rest of the lunch hour looking over a map of  Zanado .  Byleth never noticed Claude slipping some of his food onto her plate and swapping it with hers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapters might be shorter this weekend because I'm a *little* distracted by this amazing Otome game I started playing called Cafe Enchante and I adore it. The men are sexy. The cosmic horror is horrific. This is a dating game? There may or may not be a small fic this weekend or next to celebrate that game.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zanado

Byleth slung her pack over her shoulders, turning to face the other students. “Everyone ready? It’s not far from here, but we will have to stay overnight.”

Lorenz and Hilda seemed unenthused about the forced camping trip, but the others were eager enough. Lysithea complained about her lack of reading material. Sylvain whispered to Ignatz, elbowing the younger man in the ribs. Ignatz fumbled his equipment, dropping his things in the dirt. He turned red. Sylvain laughed, bending down to help him pick things up. Leonie waited until he stood straight again and smacked Sylvain in the back of the head. “Leave him alone, you pervert.”

Sylvain winced. “I deserved that.”

Claude nodded, walking by. “You did. Besides, did you really think we’d get away with that since  Seteth is around?”

“Honestly, I forgot. Where is the professor?”

Byleth turned her head to inform them, “He will follow shortly. The professor had some family matters to wrap up.”

“ Flayn was very upset she was being made to stay behind,” Claude said out of the side of his mouth. 

“Brothers,” grumbled Hilda. Ignatz meekly nodded in agreement. Sylvain frowned. 

“We’re losing daylight,”  Byleth called. “Let’s move!”

“I didn’t know she could be so loud,” whispered Marianne as they began walking. 

Claude chuckled. “Probably the mercenary training in her. You’ll appreciate that tomorrow when we fight.”

“Do we have to?” she asked, worried. “I. ..don’t want to take a life.” Marianne looked at the ground, downcast. “I know they’re bandits, but the goddess values all life, doesn’t she?”

“Think of it this way, Marianne,” Claude said. “These bandits are taking lives when they plunder villages. We are saving lives by stopping them. I’m sure if they surrender,  Teach will spare them.”

“Okay,” she whispered. 

“Don’t worry, Marianne!” boomed Raphael. “With me as your shield, nothing could hurt you!” He popped the buttons off his shirt as he flexed his muscles, trying to reassure Marianne of his strength. She giggled. 

“Yeah,” chirped Hilda. “We have all these strong men to help us, Mari. Don’t worry!” She batted her eyes at Sylvain, who looked away. 

“You’re still fighting, Hilda,”  Byleth reminded. 

“Darn,” the pink-haired girl muttered. 

“Lysithea, allow me to assist you,” offered Lorenz as he tried to carry her bag. 

She rudely pulled it away from him and groused, “I can do it myself, Lorenz. I’m not a princess.”

Claude shot her a curious look. “Princess?” She flushed, walking quickly ahead. He smirked and tapped his chin. “Looks like I have something to dig into when we get back.”

“Don’t you think you’re in enough trouble, Claude?” asked Leonie. “You’ve bugged her a lot lately.”

“Just trying to keep her spirits up,” he replied cheerfully. “She’s too serious.”

“You’re not serious enough,” said Lorenz, gesturing dramatically. “Please do not embarrass the Alliance on the battlefield.”

Claude scoffed. “Unlike most of you, I have had to take a life before. Don’t worry. I won’t lose composure.”

“Was it hard?” asked Ignatz. “To kill, I mean?”

Claude pressed his lips tightly together and patted Ignatz on the shoulder. “It was him or me, Iggy. And that’s really all that matters in those situations.”

Crestfallen, Ignatz looked down. “I see.”

“You won’t be alone,” he comforted. “And you may not have to kill anyone. But if you do, remember that it’s about surviving.”

Byleth looked back at her fellow students and said, “Hurry it up! We need to set up camp before dark.”

Lysithea swallowed nervously. “D-dark?”

*

Seteth flew on his wyvern, suppressing the feelings of guilt welling up inside.  Flayn had every right to be furious. Still, he was not ready to risk her safety, not even with the other students present to help protect her. He spotted the flames of the campfire and landed some distance away. He called out. “It is I,  Seteth .”

He heard, rather than saw, the sheathing of a sword as Byleth stepped forward out of the gloom. “You’re late,” she observed. 

He rubbed his hand across his face wearily. “Things took longer than expected.”

“You should have let her come,”  Byleth said. 

“I can’t, I,” he began, upset. Recalling where he was and who he was talking to, he snapped, “It is none of your concern.”

Byleth shrugged and returned to camp. “Food?” she asked, offering him a lukewarm plate. 

He accepted it awkwardly. “My thanks.” He looked around. “Where are the students?”

“Sleeping in their tents.” She looked back and yelled, “They had better be sleeping in their assigned tents!”

“Uh,”  Seteth began, lifting his hand. He withdrew it quickly and muttered, “They’re probably not asleep now.”

“That’s okay,” she replied, a faint glimmer of humor in her eyes. “It is time to switch the watch.” She went to the men’s side of the camp and opened the flap, tossing a pinecone in. A yelp and a loud rustle later, Sylvain blearily walked outside. 

“What was that?” he mumbled. 

“Pinecone. You’re up.”

He waved at  Seteth , still waking up. “Hey, Professor. Glad you’re here. She’s a monster.”

Seteth gave him a disapproving look. “She is your classmate and your superior and you will treat her as such.”

“Right,” Sylvain nodded. “Only...” He looked back at  Byleth’s retreating form as she went to the women’s tent to sleep. When he snapped back to  Seteth , he finished his train of thought. “She never stops to rest. How is she not tired?”

Gazing sharply at the young man,  Seteth asked, “What do you mean?”

“She doesn’t break a sweat, even after the long hike we had today. She kept working until all of us were served food. Then, and only then, did she stop to  eat. I’ve never seen stamina like that in a person before.”

Seteth frowned, thinking. “Perhaps her years on the road as a mercenary has given her a discipline you are unfamiliar with,” he suggested. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Sylvain narrowed his eyes. He laughed, shaking his head. “I’m tired, what am I saying? She’s as human as you or I.”

Seteth gave him a strained smile and went to warm up his dinner over the fire. “Rhea,” he muttered. “What is she to you?”

*

For a day of bloodshed and battle, the day began pleasant enough. Birds chirped, a breeze blew, and the sun shone down gently. The peace of the morning broke with the clashing of blades and the dying screams of bandits. Marianne trembled, holding her lance as  Byleth had taught her to defend her friend, Raphael, who was bleeding from a leg wound. “Help,” she cried. “Please!”

A bandit approached, laughing. “No one can hear you, sweetheart. Just me.” She screamed as he lunged for her, her Crest activating. She panted, averting her eyes from the impaled bandit. 

“Raphael,” she said, crouching beside him. “I have to heal you. Just tell me if someone’s coming, okay?”

Her friend nodded. “Sure,” he grunted. “You okay?”

“I’m more worried about you right now,” she answered, concentrating on repairing the seeping gash. 

Seteth flew overhead, taking a count of who lived and who died. He directed  Byleth over to Ignatz, who struggled to fend off three bandits. His hand trembled as he held his sword aloft. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he said. “Please, just go.”

They laughed at him, boxing him against a cliff. He parried and dodged to his best ability. One bandit slipped under his guard and sliced his arm. Ignatz held out his free hand, crying “Stop!” Ice encrusted the attacking bandit, freezing him to the spot.  Byleth arrived to slay the remaining two bandits. 

She nodded at him. “You remembered.” 

Ignatz looked at his hand in horror. “I. ..where did this ice come from?”

“You.”  Byleth handed him a vulnerary for his wound and went to the next student in need. 

Hilda yelled defiantly at a man, chopping him down. A wounded Lysithea lay behind her, passed out from exhaustion. “You’re making me work!” she screamed, cleaving another bandit’s arm off. 

“Take her and retreat,”  Byleth said. “You’ve done well.”

Hilda cradled Lysithea in her arms and determinedly marched back towards their camp.  Byleth covered her, eliminating the remaining enemies. She saw Claude facing off against the leader, peppering him with questions. 

“Why did you attack us? How did you know we were there?” His suspicion and paranoia were evident on his face. “Who paid you?”

The bandit leader spat at him, refusing to answer. “You’re a bunch of spoiled brats. What do I care if a few of you die?”

Claude aimed an arrow at the man. “Who paid you?” 

Byleth approached from behind, her sword digging lightly into his back. “Answer him,” she said fiercely. “It was not a coincidence you found him and the other lords.”

Coughing up blood, the bandit leader laughed. “I was lied to. No one told me-” He fell forward, dead.  Byleth lowered her sword. 

“Was that you?” she asked.

“No.” Claude clenched his jaw, angry. He bent over the man, examining his eyes. “Poison. Probably whoever put him up to this.” Claude slammed his fist into the ground. “More questions.” He looked up at  Byleth . “Something is rotten in the heart of  Fodlan . You see it, right?”

She nodded grimly. “Come on. Let’s go back to the camp.”

As they walked past the worn ruins peppering the landscape, a wave of memory and nostalgia swept  Byleth away. “This was peaceful once,” she murmured. 

“Did you say something, Teach?” Claude asked, turning to look at her. 

She blinked, shaking her head.  Byleth placed her hand over her heart. “This feels strange.”

“Your heartbeat?”

“No.” She didn’t elaborate. 

“Teach?” Claude asked, worried. “Need some help?”

She stopped, eyes going blank. After a moment’s pause, she returned to her surroundings. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

They walked back to the camp.  Seteth fussed over all the students. He glanced at  Byleth , studying her out of the corner of his eye. “Being here...of all places...” he muttered. 

Byleth’s eyes narrowed, her head turning to him. “You feel it too?”

Seteth blanched. “No. I...” He excused himself, busying his attention over Lysithea, who was slowly beginning to revive. No one felt like celebrating that night, falling into their beds with exhaustion.

Even though they had succeeded their aim, everyone felt something was lost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be fun, with the wild cards being introduced.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teenagers, amirite? (Just kidding, I love teenagers. I used to be one.)

On her next free day, Byleth crept away to explore the valley of Zanado. Sothis disagreed with her decision to go alone, but Byleth said, “How am I supposed to explain you? ‘Professor Seteth, sorry to bother you, but the gremlin living rent-free in my brain wants me to check out that weird feeling we had during last month’s mission. Pretty please, would you come with us?’ I don’t think so.” 

After that, Sothis couldn’t argue, though she did insult Byleth the whole way there. Byleth tuned the little girl out and focused on arriving at Zanado safely. Things appeared calm until a loud roar shook the rocks around her. “There would be monsters,” Byleth stated grimly, drawing her sword. She ran to the safety of the cliff, knowing it would guard her back. If the worst outcome happened, barring her death, she could always try scaling it to escape. 

A shout rang out across the canyon. “Need a hand, Teach?” Byleth sighed in relief. 

“For once I appreciate your tendency to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong,” she yelled back. “Think you can clear a path for me?” 

“You heard her, everyone,” Claude said. 

Leonie reached Byleth first. “I can’t believe you made such a stupid mistake,” she chided. “I thought you were a seasoned mercenary.” 

“I didn’t think...” Byleth began. 

“Explain later, fight now,” Leonie retorted, shooting down a monstrous eagle. 

They rejoined the rest of the Deer clustered at the top of the plateau. Claude rallied his classmates, ordering out their formations. A surge of pride swelled in Byleth at how quickly everyone cooperated. Even Lorenz did his part to defend his weaker classmates. 

When all the monsters had been pushed back, the group escaped the canyon, breathing a sigh of relief when the monastery walls rose into view. “Are you going to tell us why you snuck off?” Claude said, crossing his arms. 

“Yes. You all deserve an answer. Thank you, by the way.” 

Sylvain shrugged. “I didn’t have anything better to do.” 

Hilda rolled her eyes. “What he means is, you’re welcome.” Hilda flipped her pigtail over her shoulder. “It was really reckless of you to leave without telling anyone.” 

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t think anyone would want to come with me.” 

“We’re your friends, Byleth,” Hilda replied, standing akimbo. “And you really don’t know Claude at all if you believe that. He loves musty old ruins like this.” 

“Thanks, Hils,” Claude said, rolling his eyes. “But we really would have come.” 

“I wouldn’t have,” Lysithea said. “Unlike most of you, I care we have a test on Monday.” 

“Oh no!” Ignatz moaned. “I forgot.” 

“Don’t worry, Ig!” Raphael said, clapping his small friend on the back. “We’ll study together, right?” 

“Yeah. Let’s have a study party,” cheered Flayn. “My brother could not disapprove of that!” 

“And it would give us an excuse,” Claude said, thinking aloud. “That is, if we can get cleaned up before anyone sees us.” 

“Why did you go back to the Red Canyon?” asked Marianne softly. “That place feels haunted.” 

“What?” shrieked Lysithea, immediately ready to run. 

Claude gripped the back of her jacket. “Hold on, spitfire,” he teased. “She said it felt haunted, not that it was.” 

“Let go of me,” Lysithea grumbled, shrugging out of his hold. “I knew that.” 

“Um,” Byleth finally said, trying to decide how much to tell them. “I was curious about why they call it the Red Canyon. But obviously, I wasn’t able to explore.” 

Flayn looked away, her face sad. “I suppose that is a part of forgotten Church history,” she muttered. 

“What was that?” Claude asked, perking up at new information. 

“Oh, uh, nothing,” Flayn answered guiltily. “We really should return quickly, if we do not want to incur my brother’s wrath.” 

“Everyone, once you’re cleaned up, meet in the classroom with your books,” Claude instructed. “We want to look as innocent as possible.” 

* 

Seteth realized his students had been oddly quiet all day, despite it being a free day. Feeling a sense of foreboding, he began searching everywhere for the errant Deer. Finally, he found them, in all places, sitting in the classroom. "What is all this?" he asked, confused. 

Flayn looked up, "Brother, we are having a study party!" 

Seteth stared suspiciously at Sylvain. "You are only studying, correct?" he asked them. The redhead did his best to appear innocent and pure hearted, which only increased Seteth's unease. 

"Yes," Byleth said. "We do have a test on Monday." 

"It is unlike you to miss a scheduled meeting," Seteth said, raising his eyebrow. 

Byleth clapped her hand over her mouth. "I forgot. I'm sorry, Professor." 

"Since you were actively doing classwork, I will forgive you," he said, a small smile gracing his face. "Shall we go meet now?" 

She stood up hastily. "Of course." Byleth waved to the classroom. "Thank you everyone. If you still have questions, stop by my room tomorrow." 

Everyone wave goodbye as Byleth followed Seteth to his office. "I have someone for you to meet," he said. "She will assist our class for the mission this month." He scowled. "I do not like it." 

"What is our mission, Professor?" Byleth asked, clasping her hands behind her back. 

"Lady Rhea has asked we assist the knights with a rebellion instigated by a minor Kingdom lord. I think it very unwise, especially since she is sending a knight with personal history to the uprising." 

"Why would she do that?" 

"I do not know," he replied softly. "Regardless, Lady Catherine does serve the Knights of Seiros faithfully, and she will be a valuable asset." 

He ushered her into his office and left to fetch Lady Catherine. While she waited, Byleth sighed in relief. Any later to the monastery and he would have discovered they were missing. Any trust she had built with him would have disappeared instantly. Byleth idly explored his office while she waited, looking at the hanging paintings and interesting book titles. She had just stopped in front of a large drawing of a dragon when the door opened. 

"Lady Catherine, may I introduce my teaching assistant Byleth Eisner?" Seteth said. 

Byleth turned around and waved. "Hi." 

"So you're the one Lady Rhea talks about," Catherine said, evaluating Byleth. She stuck out her hand. "Glad to put a face to the name." 

Byleth walked over and shook her hand. "Professor Seteth said you're helping us with this rebellion?" 

Catherine sighed and crossed her arms, leaning back against the wall. "I'm the only knight that wields a Relic and Lady Rhea wants this uprising quelled quickly." 

"Why is this lord inciting his people?" Byleth asked, curious. 

Catherine frowned. "Have you covered the Tragedy of Duscur in class yet?" 

Byleth shook her head. "I have heard of it, but we are still discussing the founding of the Church." 

The Knight chewed on her thumb. "It's not a pleasant story. Anyway, one of the people behind it was this lord's son. He was executed. I...was the one who brought him in." Pain flashed across her face. 

"She's hiding something," Byleth thought. 

"Agreed," Sothis replied. "Perhaps you should find out from the others what really happened." 

"Lady Rhea showed me a kindness and I aim to repay her," Catherine said. "The best way I can do that is swing my sword for the Church's cause." 

"Lord Lonato has always been faithful to the Church," Seteth added. "This sudden defiance seems strange." 

"He never recovered after the loss of Christophe," Lady Catherine said sadly. 

"Lord Lonato?" Byleth asked, a sense of dread building inside. "Isn't he Ashe's adoptive father?" 

Seteth frowned. "Yes. I do not believe Ashe has any fault in this.” 

Byleth shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.” 

“What did you mean?” Seteth asked, frowning. 

“Does Ashe know? I don’t want to fight his father. Can’t we resolve this peacefully?” 

Lady Catherine shook her head. “He won’t listen to reason as long as I am there.” 

“Then why do you have to come?” Byleth asked rudely. 

“I told you, Lady Rhea wants this ended quickly, to reduce the casualties.” 

“No offense, but shouldn’t Lady Rhea care about the truth? About justice?” Byleth asked, her eyes narrowing in barely perceived anger. 

Seteth stepped between them. “Byleth raises a valid point. I will ask Lady Rhea some questions to see how we can best resolve this situation so that a fellow student does not lose a parent unnecessarily.” 

“Lady Rhea knows what’s best, as Archbishop of the Church,” Catherine replied stubbornly. 

“But Lady Rhea isn’t the ruler of the Kingdom,” Byleth replied. “Why does she have authority in this matter?” 

Seteth placed a heavy hand on Byleth’s shoulder in warning. “Miss Eisner was raised away from the tenets of the Church,” he explained to Catherine. “We must give her some leeway in regards to her ignorance.” 

Byleth pulled away, irritated. “It doesn’t make sense,” she muttered. “I don’t understand.” She glared defiantly at Catherine. “Regardless of your orders, Lady Knight, I will try to bring him in peacefully.” 

“We’ll see what happens,” Catherine replied, scowling. She nodded curtly at Seteth. “I shall see you later.” She stomped out of the room, her split skirt swirling behind her. 

Seteth let out a deep breath, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Miss Eisner, are you determined to see your next birthday?” 

“Huh?” Byleth asked, looking at him. 

“You have said some very unwise things in front of prominent Church figures. Less important people have had limbs severed for such a thing.” 

“Asking questions shouldn’t be a crime,” Byleth replied, staring him down. 

“I agree. Lady Rhea does not, and her will supersedes all.” 

“What about the will of the Goddess?” Byleth crossed her arms. “What happens when Lady Rhea’s will contradicts the Goddess’s?” Seteth kept his mouth closed, unsure of how to answer. Byleth frowned. “That’s what I thought.” She left the room, slamming the door. 

Seteth sat down at his desk, laying his head in his hands and closing his eyes. “What have you done, Rhea?” 

* 

Flayn ignored Seteth as she returned to her room. Other than her earlier greeting, she had not spoken to him since the class had left for their mission. She would not buckle under his hurt gaze! He had done her a grievous wrong and he would apologize for it. She slammed her door, not even wishing him good night. Yes, she had enjoyed her time with her aunt, but his overprotective behavior rankled her. “I will not live in fear,” she declared, yanking her nightclothes on. 

Seteth stared at her door sadly. He pulled his hair, frustrated. “Teenagers!” he growled, heading to bed. They should have never returned to the monastery. 

* 

In the dark of the night, a loud maniacal laugh echoed through the dining hall. “Hush, Coco,” scolded a voice. 

“Such magnificence as I cannot be constrained!” another voice replied haughtily. “I have successfully pilfered us some top-tier tea leaves. You will allow me my pleasure.” 

Even though it was dark, an eye-roll was somehow made known. The laugh rang out once again. 

Lysithea, walking from the library to her room, heard the loud cackle and fled to safety. “Ghost!” she whimpered. 

Unaware of the scare given to a passing student, the first voice spoke again. “Hush, Coco! Someone will hear.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff's heating up!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CW death and spoilers (at this point do spoilers matter? Most of us have finished the game several times over by now)
> 
> Lonato's rebellion

Due to  Byleth’s anger at the mishandling of Lord Lonato’s rebellion, her working relationship with  Seteth frayed.  Seteth knew he needed to tread lightly to prevent it from snapping altogether. He struggled to maintain control in the classroom, the other students noticing the tension between teacher and assistant; and the struggle continued in his personal life.  Flayn had still not forgiven him for leaving her behind. 

For the first time in a month, Seteth managed to schedule time with Rhea to address his concerns. He sat in Rhea’s room as the two of them took tea. Noticeable bags hung under his eyes. 

“Are you not resting well?” she asked, concerned. “How may I alleviate your burdens?” Rhea laid a comforting hand on top of Seteth’s. 

He sighed, shaking his head. “I’m pulled in many directions, Rhea,” he said quietly. “These conflicting responsibilities have weighed heavily on my mind this last month.”

“Tell me about them,” she replied kindly, sipping her tea.

“ Flayn continues to shut me out. I don’t know how to repair our relationship. I thought I was making the right choice, leaving her with you. But she holds onto her anger. How do I make it right?” He sank his face into his hands, despairing. “She’s the only family I have left. I can’t lose her, Rhea.”

Sadly, Rhea gripped his hand. “You must learn to let go. She’s a young woman,  Seteth . Soon she will be finding a family of her own. For now, perhaps an apology will suffice?”

“I have apologized!”

“For what?” Rhea asked, smirking. 

“For leaving her behind,” he replied, not understanding her point. 

“And have you apologized for being overbearing? Overprotective?”

“I-” he shut his mouth, embarrassed. “No. Will that help?”

Rhea nodded. “You have forgotten what it is like to be young, Cichol.”

He chuckled tiredly. “Aren’t you the pot calling the kettle black, Seiros?”

She smiled, leaning back into her chair. “Perhaps. But  Flayn is only one of your concerns. What of the others?”

He frowned, unsure of how to broach the subject. “About our mission this month,” he began slowly. 

“Is there a problem?” she said, her tone hardening. 

“The students have expressed concerns,” he said. “You are aware Lord Lonato’s adoptive son attends the school. Well, his friends and classmates are worried for him. Is there no way to resolve this peacefully? Without bloodshed?”

Rhea withdrew her hand, clenching it into a fist. “It is a tragedy that Ashe will suffer,” she replied coldly. “But I do not see Lord Lonato relenting. And neither will I.”

“Must Lady Catherine come?”  Seteth asked calmly, sweating under his collar at the expression on Rhea’s face. “I worry her personal history will negatively affect the outcome.”

Rhea gazed at him imperiously. “You expressed concerns over the safety of your students on this mission. Lady Catherine was assigned to keep them safe. Now you tell me she is an impediment? Make up your mind,  Cichol . Who has put doubts into your thoughts?” Her hand pounded the table, shaking it. 

“No one,” he said evenly. “I only wonder why this is necessary. What does this have to do with the will of the Goddess?”

“It has everything to do with it,” she hissed. “I cannot allow even one voice of dissent if I am to bring the Goddess back to us. One voice will shake the foundations we have built. Are you willing to undo all our work to save one boy’s father?”

“I-”

“Think carefully where your allegiance lies,  Cichol ,” she warned, pointing a sharp fingernail at him. “My patience only stretches so much.”

“Understood,  Seiros ,” he whispered, clenching his jaw. “I will tell my students the mission will proceed as planned.”

“Good.” Rhea lifted a tea biscuit to her mouth and daintily nibbled at it. “Was there anything else?”

“No, Lady Rhea,” he said, standing. “If you will excuse me, I must meet with my assistant to plan out the rest of our lessons this month.” He bowed curtly and left. 

Rhea drummed her fingers on the table. “Why now?” she muttered angrily. “Of all times to grow a spine, why now? When I am so close?”

*

Byleth found Ashe in the cathedral, praying. She knelt next to him. “I am sorry, Ashe,” she said. “It seems we could not change Lady Rhea’s mind.”

He sniffled, rubbing his face. “I understand. I wish I knew why Lonato was doing this.” 

Byleth slowly reached out to pat his leg. “I will ask Professor  Seteth if you can join us. Maybe you will be able to talk him down.”

Hopeful, Ashe looked at her. “You would do that?”

“Yes. Mind you, the professor may refuse.”

“That’s okay. It means a lot that you offered.”

“You are kind, Ashe,”  Byleth said, looking up at the  stained glass murals. “I would like to keep your heart as protected as possible. The world needs more kindness.” She looked down at her hands. “And less people like me.”

Ashe grabbed her hands and squeezed them. “No one who knows you thinks you are heartless.”  Byleth exhaled a short laugh. “Just because you fight for a living doesn’t make you a monster.”

She stood up and tousled his head. “Thank you, Ashe, for your words. I’ll let you know later what the Professor decided.” 

She walked away, clutching at the spot where her heart refused to beat. “I’m not heartless, huh?” A violet-haired person brushed past, briefly meeting  Byleth’s eyes. “Huh,” she said. “Never seen that student before.”

Sothis tittered. “You can’t be everywhere, O Protector of the Meek.”

“Shut up, Sothis,”  Byleth grumbled. “I can’t help it. They’re all so vulnerable. Especially Ashe right now.”

“I can name at least one student who is not,” Sothis  teased. “A tall, dark, brooding one?”

“If you’re referring to Hubert, I’m including him too. Just because he won’t share his weaknesses doesn’t mean he has none. I worry about him,” she admitted. “I don’t think he eats enough.”

Sothis laughed. “Worry about your own class first. Didn’t you find a vial of poison the other day that belonged to Claude?”

Byleth sighed heavily. “I keep meaning to talk to him about that hobby of his. I’m worried he’s planning on using it on Lorenz.”

“There he is,” Sothis encouraged, pushing  Byleth in the right direction. “Why don’t you handle that now?”

*

“I hate this fog,”  Byleth said, rubbing her arms. “It’s too dangerous.”

Seteth frowned, agreeing. “Pass torches out to everyone. I do not want us taken unawares.”

“Excuse me, Professor?” piped Lysithea. “This fog feels magical. I think if we found the mage spelling it, it would  dissipate .”

“Very well,” he nodded. “Keep an eye out for a mage, everyone,” he instructed. “The sooner we  dispell the fog the better the outcome.” He looked at Ashe. “Are you prepared for what may happen?”

The archer nodded, determined. “I know he might still die. But I have to try to convince him. The Lonato that I know wouldn’t do this without reason.”

Grimly, Claude said, “What kind of reasons would provoke a pious man to rebellion?”

Catherine strode by, her Relic glowing. “We are not here to determine guilt or innocence. We are here to capture and subdue traitors to the Church of  Seiros and the Kingdom.”

Byleth scowled at the older woman. Claude clamped a hand over her mouth. “Not here,” he whispered. “This whole thing stinks, I agree. But if you keep speaking out, you’ll not be able to help Ashe, okay?”

Byleth nodded, keeping her silence. She looked at her other classmates. Each one of them wore a defiant expression. No matter what the Knight said, her class would keep questioning. 

*

Byleth held Ashe as he sobbed, clawing against her arms. “Please! Let me go to him!”

“You know I can’t, Ashe,”  Byleth said. “I’m sorry.”

“Lonato!” Ashe screamed as  Thunderbrand separated the lord’s head from his body. 

Claude stepped in front of him, blocking his view. “You shouldn’t see this,” he said. “Trust me. You’ll want to remember him as he was.”

Ashe ignored Claude’s advice, doing his best to wrest himself from  Byleth’s grip. She looked impassively on as Catherine cleaned her weapon. “Please,” he cried. “Let me go.” He collapsed onto the ground, tears pouring down his face.

“I’m sorry,”  Byleth said, her face blank. “I’m sorry.”

Claude put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. He spoke softly to Ashe. “Who would you like to tell your brother and sister?”

Ashe looked up at him, distraught. “I will,” he said. “They shouldn’t hear it from anyone else.”

“Would you like us to go with you?” Claude asked. 

“No.” Ashe rubbed his dirty face, spreading dirt onto his cheek. “It is my duty.”

Byleth released him and watched him walk off towards his home. “What will happen?” she asked Claude. 

“The Church will probably assign someone to watch the lands until Ashe comes of age,” Claude said. He kicked the ground angrily. “This should never have happened. Killing villagers defending their lord is not what we signed up for.” He crouched next to  Byleth . “You okay?”

“Yes.”

He tilted her face up to look at her. “Liar.”

She blinked, surprised. “How?”

He smirked. “That blank face of yours comes out less and less. Anymore, I only see it when you’re hiding emotions.” He let go of her chin. “It’s okay to be upset.”

“I know.”  Byleth rubbed her arms again. “And when no one can see me, then I will allow myself to feel. You understand, don’t you?”

His mouth hung open. He laughed. “You never cease to surprise me, Teach. Come on.” He held out his hand to help her up. “Let’s check on everyone else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a chapter a day early! Surprise! Can't wait to write the next chapter. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seteth has connected some dots. Claude makes a boo-boo.

Seteth paced nervously. “Brother?” Flayn said. “What ails you?” 

“That note was a plant,” he replied quietly. “Though we should take the threat seriously, I know it must be a diversion.” 

“Claude and Byleth also made that observation,” she agreed. “What should we do?” 

“I do not know. I must think.” 

Flayn went up to Seteth and put her hand on his arm. “We should trust them,” she said. “They have good judgment.” 

Seteth raised his brow. “Claude? Good judgment?” He laughed. “The same Claude that Byleth had a discussion with over poisoning classmates?” 

“To be fair, I do not believe anyone was truly poisoned,” Flayn protested. “He certainly is lively.” 

Seteth scoffed. “Lively.” He stared at Flayn suspiciously. “Don’t tell me that you are developing feelings for that mischief maker?” 

Flayn giggled, shaking her head. “We are friends, brother. Nothing more.” 

He hummed disapprovingly. “Should you associate with him?” 

“Claude has a good heart, brother,” Flayn said. “Despite his schemes.” 

“We shall see,” Seteth replied, crossing his arms. “For now, we must prepare for the Rite of Rebirth at the end of the month. Please be vigilant.” 

She smiled softly at him. “Of course, brother.” She hugged him impulsively. “Thank you for apologizing.” 

He smiled gently at her. “I had to. I missed your smile.” 

* 

Byleth hefted the sword in her hands, adjusting to its weight. Why people were in the Holy Tomb breaking into a casket was beyond her. Perhaps that was a problem for Claude to solve. She had other concerns. The sword glowed as she struck the mage down. “No one hurts my classmates,” she said fiercely. 

Marianne healed a wounded Ignatz behind her. Sylvain stared at the weapon in her hands and back at her face, a terrible realization spreading across his features. Raphael and Hilda fought the mage’s reinforcements. Leonie and Claude shot arrows. Lorenz aided Lysithea with her casting. Byleth ran to join them. 

“Fancy weapon, Teach,” Claude said. “Where did you find that?” 

Byleth pointed at the open crypt behind her. “Any more mages coming?” 

“No. The skeleton man disappeared too.” 

Further questions were staved off by the arrival of the Knights. “I see you have this in hand,” Lady Catherine said. “Sorry we arrived late.” 

“Are Professor Seteth and Flayn safe?” 

The knight nodded. “They will be here shortly. What happened?” 

As Byleth filled in the knights, the other students whispered curiously among themselves. 

“That’s a Relic, right?” Hilda said. 

“I’ve never seen that one before,” Sylvain replied. 

“Who cares?” said Leonie loudly, rolling her eyes. She sat on the floor with her ankles crossed. “A Relic isn’t that big a deal.” 

“Leonie,” scolded Lorenz. “A Relic means Byleth has noble blood. Of course it’s important.” 

“Whatever,” she said. 

“To think, it was here all along,” Claude mumbled. He looked at Byleth. “Teach, mind if I examine that?” 

She tossed it to him. “Knock yourself out. It’s not like I’ll be allowed to keep it.” 

He caught the Relic and ran his hands over it. Byleth shivered. His eyes gleamed in triumph. Byleth frowned. She hoped his ambitions wouldn’t prevent his common sense. While Claude busied himself with the sword, Byleth checked everyone for injuries. She waited for Seteth and Flayn to arrive. Occasionally she threw glances Claude’s way, but he was entranced with the Relic and didn’t notice. 

Finally Seteth and Flayn met up with their students. Flayn gasped at the sword in Claude’s hands. Seteth scowled. “Von Riegan,” he said. “Hand it over.” 

Unwillingly, Claude slowly passed the Relic to his professor. “It’s the Sword, isn’t it?” he asked. 

“Yes,” Seteth said tersely. “Did anyone use it?” 

All eyes pointed to Byleth. She shrugged. “It glowed in my hands.” 

“What?” Seteth barked, upset. “Come with me.” He looked at his other students. “You’re dismissed. Clean up and we will reconvene on Monday.” 

Naturally, Claude followed behind, surreptitiously trailing the pair. He suspected Byleth knew they were being followed. She had spotted him before, after all. 

Seteth stalked down the hallway to the Audience Chamber. “Clear the room,” he ordered. “Lady Rhea, a word?” 

“What is it, Seteth?” she asked. He presented the Sword to her. Her eyes gleamed in anticipation. “The Sword of the Creator,” she stated reverently. “It has been revealed at long last.” She gazed at Byleth possessively. “Were you able to wield it?” 

Byleth glanced at Seteth, unsure of what she should say. 

“Tell her what happened,” Seteth encouraged. 

“I disarmed the mage breaking into the crypt and picked it up. It glowed. I struck him down.” 

Rhea smiled wider. “And did you feel the power of the Goddess flow in you?” 

“I don’t know,” Byleth replied. “What does the Goddess’s power feel like?” 

The Archbishop laughed, it tinkled across the room. “Pick up the weapon, child.” 

Byleth hesitated, looking at Seteth again. He nodded his permission. She gripped the hilt firmly and watched as the Relic woke up. 

“That’s not possible,” Seteth said. “No one has had the Crest of Flames since Nemesis.” He stared at Rhea, upset. “What does this mean?” 

“It means the Goddess has blessed us with her presence,” she replied calmly. “Child, wield this sword for the good of Fodlan. It is a powerful weapon and only you can use it.” 

“Lady Rhea,” Seteth protested. “It has no Crest stone! It should not be possible!” 

She smiled mysteriously. “All things are possible for the Goddess.” 

“Still, she should not be given this weapon! Not until we know there will be no adverse affects.” 

“I have faith, Seteth. Do you?” She eyed him sharply. 

“I-” He frowned. “It is my duty to make sure my students are safe, Lady Rhea. There are too many unknowns in play.” 

“All will reveal itself in good time,” she replied. Lady Rhea placed her hand on Byleth’s shoulder. “This child is special. It is our duty to guide her in the path she will take. Will you help her?” 

“Of course,” he said, nodding. “Come, Byleth.” He bowed. “Lady Rhea.” 

She graciously dismissed them, smiling. “Finally,” she whispered. 

* 

Seteth pulled Byleth to his office, shutting and locking his door. “Sit,” he commanded. He waited for her to obey before continuing. “I don’t know what kind of plans Rhea has for you, but I am very upset she has entrusted a powerful Relic to you without knowing if it will hurt you.” 

“I don’t understand,” Byleth said. 

Seteth pounded his fist on his desk. “The Crest stone is missing. Relics cannot work without them. So why is it you can use it anyway?” He peered suspiciously at her. “Who are you?” 

She shrugged. “I’m a mercenary.” 

He shoved the papers off his desk angrily. “Don’t toy with me. Why does Rhea give you so much esteem? Why is she allowing you to have the Sword?” 

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her?” 

“She won’t tell me!” he yelled. “She has always kept secrets, but this goes too far!” His face stood inches from hers. 

Byleth stood up abruptly. “You may not speak to me that way.” 

He backed up, running his hands through his hair. “I apologize. It is not your fault.” The tips of his ears peeked through strands of his hair. Byleth blinked. He shook his head and his ears were covered once again. “Stay here. I will bring your father in to help clear matters.” 

He walked over to his door, unlocking it, and yanked it open. “Captain Jeralt, in here, please.” 

Jeralt walked in, crossing his arms. “Why is she in here?” he asked. “Are you in trouble, kid?” 

Byleth shrugged. “I don’t think so?” 

Seteth shook the Sword of the Creator in Jeralt’s face. “Rhea has given THIS to your daughter.” 

Jeralt blanched. “Impossible.” 

“Then you don’t know?” 

“Of course not. Sitri never said, and I never asked.” 

“Sitri?” Byleth asked quietly. 

“Your mother,” Jeralt explained. “She was one of Rhea’s trusted ladies when I was Captain before.” 

“So she was born here,” Seteth stated. 

“You’re not going to tell Rhea, are you?” 

Seteth laughed bitterly. “She already knows. She has known since the moment you stepped foot in the monastery.” 

Jeralt cursed. “Do you know what she wants?” 

“No. Do you?” 

“If I knew, do you think I would have let Byleth stay?” Jeralt yelled. “I left to protect Byleth from Rhea! And now...” 

Byleth crossed her arms. “Would you both stop talking about me as if I weren’t right here?” 

The two men looked sheepishly at her. “Sorry, Byleth,” Jeralt apologized. 

“My apologies,” Seteth added. 

“I don’t know what’s going on, but it seems like none of us like what Lady Rhea is planning. Until we learn more, we should go about daily life. I know neither of you will let anything happen to me. Meanwhile, I will do my best to avoid being alone with her.” 

Jeralt nodded, squishing Byleth into a tight hug. “We’ll protect you, kid.” He glared at Seteth. “Right?” 

“Of course,” Seteth promised. 

Byleth squirmed out of Jeralt’s grip. “Dad,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Not in front of the Professor.” He laughed, ruffling her hair. “Dad!” 

Seteth smiled indulgently at the pair. “I will do my best to draw the truth from Rhea. She may not trust me with her secrets after I made my displeasure known.” 

“Thank you, Professor,” Byleth said. 

“You’re welcome.” 

* 

Claude found Byleth in her room, flipping through a book on Crests. “It’s true?” he asked. “You’re keeping the sword?” 

She eyed the weapon leaning in the corner of her room. “Lady Rhea has requested I do so,” she said finally. “I doubt I’ll use it much.” 

“Why not?” he asked, astonished. “It’s a legendary Relic! It can cleave the mountains in half! The last person to use it was Nemesis, the King of Liberation!” 

“So I’ve heard,” she said wryly. “That doesn’t mean I’m his descendant.” 

“But you don’t know for sure,” Claude countered. 

“Why does it matter?” Byleth asked, “I’m still me.” 

“Yeah, but,” Claude said, gazing hungrily at the sword. “It’s the weapon that changed the world.” 

“Then you take it,” she said. “I don’t want it.” 

Claude shook his head. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t use it. You can though. Why don’t you want to?” 

“It feels strange,” she said. “Alive.” 

“Huh.” He walked over to the Relic and poked it. “Feels like a sword to me.” 

“Not to me,” Byleth replied stubbornly. “And if you’re my friend like you claim to be, you wouldn’t pressure me to use it.” 

“Even if using it meant peace?” 

“Peace has never come from a sword,” Byleth stated firmly. “And you’re a fool if you believe that.” 

“Fine,” Claude said angrily. “I’m a fool.” He left, slamming the door behind him. 

Byleth threw her pillow after him. “Stupid,” she said, eyes burning with unshed tears, not knowing why his words upset her. 

* 

Byleth punched and kicked the training dummy, needing to release the frustration built up inside. She hadn’t seen Claude in a few days. According to Seteth, the Roundtable had asked him to attend in his grandfather’s place, sending Lady Daphnel to fetch him. Byleth was sorry she missed seeing him off. “Not that it matters,” she grunted, punching the dummy again. “He only cares about that stupid sword.” 

A big, shirtless man wiped the sweat off his brow. “Need a partner, pal?” he asked. 

Byleth shook her head. “Thanks, but I’d rather not hurt you.” 

He laughed. “I can take a beating,” he offered. 

“Really,” Byleth said, “I’m not in a good frame of mind.” 

“All right, pal,” he said, waving. “Maybe next time.” He slung a shirt over his shoulder and left, whistling. 

“Sure,” she said. She returned to kicking the dummy in the torso. “What a strange man,” she said. 

Sothis laughed. “He’s strange? You’re the one taking your temper out on a dummy.” 

“I’m also the one with a little girl in my head,” Byleth muttered. “What do you want?” 

“The same as you,” Sothis said, floating next to her. “Answers. It is a shame your friend left. He could probably find some for us.” 

“I don’t want to talk to him right now,” Byleth grumbled. 

“He’s young,” Sothis replied. “He’ll realize soon that he made a mistake.” 

“And if he doesn’t?” 

“Then he is unworthy of being your friend.” 

“I’ve never had a friend before, Sothis. What if I’m the problem?” 

Sothis smacked Byleth on the head. “Stop that,” she instructed. “There is nothing wrong with you.” 

“Ow! Sothis!” 

The gremlin giggled. “I mean it. You may be different, but that is not a bad thing. I like you for you.” 

“Thanks, invisible gremlin,” Byleth said, feeling a little better. 

“I take it back,” Sothis pouted. “You’re a pain. I’ll have you know that I am an enlightened being.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Byleth replied, half-listening. “Can you go and enlighten me what’s for lunch?” 

Sothis rolled her eyes. “Bathe first. You stink.” 

“How can you even smell?” 

“Rude!” 

Byleth laughed to herself, taking comfort in that she was not alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Big Bad Wolves are coming up!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Constance, entering like Renge Houshakuji: Bow before me, peasants!  
> Everyone else: *crickets*

Claude fiddled with his braid, upset. “What’s eating you, brat?” Judith asked, leaning forward. She winced as the carriage ran over a large rock. “You’re usually bouncing off the walls by now.” 

“Nothing,” he said, sulking. 

“Don’t lie to me. You may have everyone in that monastery fooled, but I grew up with your mother. I know her tells, same as yours.” 

“I argued with a...friend,” he replied. 

“A friend, hmm?” She raised her eyebrow knowingly. “This wouldn’t be that young woman I’ve heard so much about?” 

Claude blushed. “It’s not like that, Judith,” he protested. 

“Uh-huh,” she said, smirking. “So you had a fight. Big deal. Just apologize.” 

“I don’t know what I should apologize for,” Claude said, crossing his arms. “If anything, she should apologize to me.” 

“Why?” 

“Because she has the Sword of the Creator, Judith! And she doesn’t even want to use it!” 

“And that’s your problem, how?” Judith pushed her index finger in the middle of his forehead. “Think, boy. Use that brain of yours. Why wouldn’t someone want to use their Relic?” 

Silent, he slumped against the carriage bench, tugging on his braid. “I guess...since it was given to her by the Church...she doesn’t want to feel beholden to them?” 

Judith nodded encouragingly. “That’s one answer. Give me another.” 

“She told me it felt alive. I think it disturbs her.” 

“I’ve heard the Relics seem to have a mind of their own. I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s true,” Judith replied. “What did you say in return?” 

“I told her it felt like a regular weapon to me.” 

Judith smacked him upside the head. “Idiot,” she scolded. “I know that’s a lie. What did it really feel like?” 

“Bone, Judith. It felt like bone.” He rubbed his head. “That really hurt.” 

“You deserved it, with your insensitivity.” 

“I guess I was,” he admitted. Groaning, he held his face in his hands. “I’m stupid.” 

“Tell me something I don’t know,” she scoffed. 

“How am I going to fix this?” 

“Boy, I told you to apologize!” She shook her head. “You’re too damn proud. Swallow it and say you’re sorry for not taking her feelings into account. Sounds like that’s the real problem here.” 

“But what if she won’t see me?” 

“You’re her classmate. She can’t avoid you forever,” Judith said dryly. “Don’t get your pants in a twist. We’re nearly there. Scheme your way back into her good graces.” She rolled her eyes. “Why am I cursed to forever have the von Riegan drama following me?” 

He smirked. 

* 

Moping, Byleth hung her head over the edge of her mattress. “I’m bored,” she complained to Sothis. 

The girl cackled. “That’s because you don’t have Claude around to keep out of trouble.” 

“That’s not true,” Byleth said. “I keep other people out of trouble besides him.” 

“But he’s special,” Sothis teased. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Byleth said. 

“Honestly! Stop being stubborn!” Sothis pouted. 

A knock on the door interrupted their burgeoning argument. “Hey, you in there, Teach?” 

Byleth sat up quickly, eagerly rushing to open the door. “You’re back!” she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling. 

“Uh, yeah. Just arrived, actually.” He shoved his hands into his pockets awkwardly. “Can I come in?” 

“I guess,” Byleth said. She sat on her bed. “Everything go okay?” 

“Same old, same old,” he shrugged. “I, um, owe you an apology.” He sheepishly kicked the ground. “I said some insensitive stuff before I left, and didn’t take your feelings into consideration. I’m sorry.” He looked up into her eyes hopefully. “Still friends?” 

Byleth nodded. “I’m not one to throw away a friend over something small,” she said. “I appreciate your apology.” 

He sighed, relieved. “Good. I brought back some snacks from Derdriu, if you want to try some.” 

She smiled. “I never turn down food,” she said eagerly. 

Claude laughed. “I know. Come on,” he invited. “It’s in my room.” 

As they left her room to go upstairs, a large shadowy person ran by. “That’s strange,” Byleth said. “The training grounds are locked this time of day, and the sauna is still under construction.” 

“Want to see what they’re up to?” Claude asked slyly. 

“We should at least see if it’s someone going where they shouldn’t,” Byleth replied. She picked up her sword from behind the door and stealthily crept after the suspicious person. As an afterthought, Claude picked up her Relic and followed behind. 

“There,” she whispered, pointing. “Did you know a secret passage was right next to my room?” 

Claude shook his head, worried. “Never seen it before. Here. Trade me.” He handed her the Sword. She reluctantly took it and gave him her usual weapon instead. 

“What are you two doing at this hour?” demanded a familiar voice. 

Guiltily, the two turned around to see Edelgard and Dimitri. “Oh, it’s only you,” Claude said, turning back towards the passageway. 

“Excuse me?” Edelgard said, crossing her arms. 

“What Claude meant was, shut up and help us figure out what’s down here,” Byleth retorted. “Unless you’re going to tell on us?” 

“Of course not,” Dimitri replied gallantly. He peered into the shadows. “What are we looking at?” 

“A secret passage,” Claude said. 

“This place is riddled with them,” said Edelgard. “It’s not a surprise.” 

“It is when I haven’t seen it before,” Claude retorted. “All the ones I’ve discovered are marked on a map.” 

“Why do you have a map of the monastery?” Dimitri asked, confused. 

Claude waved him off. “Not important. The real question is, why is there a secret passage leading down into the belly of the monastery, and why are people using it?” 

“Hmm,” said Edelgard, tapping her foot. “We shouldn’t leave this alone, but the four of us aren’t enough to investigate.” 

“Investigate what?” yawned Linhardt, popping up behind them. 

“This secret passage that popped up by Teach’s room,” Claude explained. “Want to come?” 

“You can tell me about it later,” he said, stretching. “I’m too tired right now.” 

“Not so fast, Linhardt,” Edelgard commanded. “You’re coming.” 

“Are you throwing a party without me?” said Hilda, leaning on Dimitri’s back. “That’s not fair!” 

“Why yes, we are,” Claude said, winking at Byleth. “We wouldn’t want you telling the whole school about our new secret party place.” 

“I’m not talking, promise,” Hilda said. “Can I please come?” 

“Sure,” Claude said, shrugging. “Just remember that you volunteered.” He grinned wolfishly at her. 

“Wait a minute,” Hilda said, gears in her head turning. “This smells like a trick!” 

“Too late!” Claude said, pushing her into the tunnel before him. 

“Uh, am I missing something?” asked Ashe. 

“Nope,” said Byleth. “Come on.” 

“Okay?” 

Claude and Hilda led the way as Byleth, Dimitri, and Ashe followed. Edelgard dragged an unwilling Linhardt at the back. “This place is creepy,” Hilda whined. “And stinky.” 

“Shh!” 

“Fine, I’ll be quiet!” 

A loud cackling laugh greeted them as a flamboyant young woman appeared. “Too late! Did you really think your trespass on our abode would go unnoticed?” 

“Gee, Coco, think you could turn it down a notch?” asked an apathetic redhead, rolling her eyes. 

“Personally, I’m itching for a fight,” said a loud voice from behind. “The King of Brawling still hasn’t met his match.” 

“Now, now, we’re being rude to our guests,” a honeyed voice added. “Some introductions are in order.” 

The seven students found themselves flanked by four strange people. “Ooh!” exclaimed Hilda. “Nice uniforms!” 

The first one curtsied. “Only the finest for the Ashen Wolves,” she crowed. 

“Haven’t I seen you before?” Byleth asked the large man. 

He laughed. “You’re the one that wouldn’t give me a beating!” He slapped his thigh. “Want a go now?” 

“Maybe later,” Byleth said. “We didn’t come to fight.” 

“What’s with those weapons, then?” drawled the redhead. “To slice fruit?” 

“Um,” Ashe said quietly. “I don’t know what’s going on.” 

“What’s “going on” is that you have invaded our turf. The people of the Abyss don’t take kindly to strangers,” purred the lavender-haired person. 

“Hey, I’ve heard of this place!” Hilda said. “Holst told me about it!” 

“How is he? It’s been a while,” said the large man. 

Her mouth dropped open as she finally recognized him. “Oh my goddess! Baltie? What are you doing here?” 

He tugged on the collar of his open jacket, embarrassed. “Long story. You can't be Hilda, can you?” 

“Don’t you recognize me?” she pouted. 

“You’ve grown since the last time I saw you,” he said. “Took me a minute, was all.” 

“Touching,” said Edelgard, stepping forward. “But that does not explain all this.” She gestured to the four people, to the tunnel, and to the other signs of inhabitance. 

“We are the outcasts of society,” said the flashy woman, waving her fan. “Once I was Constance von Nuvelle, lady of the Empire.” 

“Nuvelle?” Edelgard whispered. “How?” 

“The Church threw me in here because I’m a threat to the general public,” said the redhead, flicking dirt off her shoulder. “Or something.” 

“How are you a threat?” asked Dimitri, confused. 

“Trust me, you don’t want to find out,” she replied. 

“You may call me Yuri, friend,” said the lavender man, winking at Byleth. Claude bristled. 

“You can’t call someone you just met your friend,” he said, stepping in front of Byleth. 

She hid a smile, laying a hand on his shoulder. “And are you the leader of the Abyss, Yuri?” she asked, stepping beside Claude. 

“Very astute,” he praised. “Even I’ve heard of your prowess, Ashen Demon.” He stepped closer, coolly examining the seven students. “You don’t look like much. But maybe you’ll do.” He turned around and walked away. “Hapi, Balthus, let’s test them.” 

The large man punched his fists together. “All right! Let’s rumble!” 

“I should have stayed in bed today,” Linhardt sighed. 

“What’s going on?” Ashe wailed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next two chapters will be Wolves, I think, before returning to our usual scheduled program


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Wolves sniff out potential threats

Steel clanged as weapons clashed. “All right!” cheered Balthus. “That’s what I’m talking about.” He blocked  Byleth’s blow with his gauntlets, trying to duck under her guard. 

“You’re not supposed to enjoy being beaten,” Hilda teased. “I mean, unless that’s your thing.”

“I always enjoy it when a pretty woman kicks my ass,” he replied as  Byleth knocked him onto his back. He shamelessly flirted with her, asking, “Want to grab a drink later?”

She shook her head. “I don’t drink.”

“That’s a shame,” he said. “But we can find other ways to pass time.” He grinned at her as she pinned him. “You weren’t kidding about your strength. Glad you turned me down the other day.”

“Are you even going to put up a fight?”  Byleth asked, digging her knee between his legs. He whimpered, submitting to her easily. 

“Go easy on Balthus, would you?” Yuri asked, laughing as he avoided Dimitri and Edelgard’s blows. “I need him to watch my back.”

Byleth looked down at the man beneath her. “He’ll be fine,” she said, standing. “Though I would avoid bedroom activities for a day or two.”

Yuri barked out another laugh, jumping over Edelgard’s axe. “Too slow,” he taunted. 

“This exercise is pointless,” she huffed. “You already know we can fight.”

Constance swooped by on her  pegasus , casting lightning. Ashe shot arrows at her, distracting her away from Linhardt. “How thrilling,” she crowed. “You have been trained well.”

“Fighting is one thing,”  Hapi said, appearing behind Dimitri. “Beating us is another.” Her horse kicked out, moving Dimitri back away from Yuri. He wiped sweat off his face. 

“And what does  beating you prove?” he asked, aiming his lance at her saddle girth. He sliced it and smiled in satisfaction as she fell off. She stood up, smirking. 

“Smart move, Didi. Too bad I’m not unarmed yet.”  Hapi threw Miasma at him. 

“Didi?” he asked, barely avoiding her spell. 

“ Hapi gives everyone nicknames,” Balthus explained, sitting up.

“But why Didi?” he asked, sweeping his lance behind her legs to hopefully knock her off-balance.

She shrugged, casting Banshee. “Don’t you like it?”

“I guess?”

Claude flew by, swinging his borrowed sword at Constance. “Mind wrapping this up?” he grunted. “We do have to return to the monastery before someone notices we’re missing.”

“Relax,” Yuri said, “You’ll be back before morning.”

*

Doing his nightly rounds to ensure students were not breaking curfew,  Seteth passed by  Byleth’s room. He realized her door was wide open. He glanced inside and frowned. “She isn’t careless. What happened?” He looked around for clues. “The Sword is missing,” he observed. “She found trouble, then. Or it found her.” He strode purposely towards the second floor, heading to  Jeralt’s office.

“Good, you’re here,”  Seteth said, entering the room. 

Jeralt looked up over his paperwork. “Is there a problem?”

“Possibly,”  Seteth replied. 

Jeralt stood up, hands on his desk. “What’s wrong?”

“I found  Byleth’s room open and her weapons missing.”

“Did you look in the training ground?”

“I came from there. The  Fraldarius boy likes to sneak in and I always make sure it’s empty and locked.”

Jeralt grimaced. “Let’s look for her, then. She can’t have gone far.”

They started with the obvious places before working their way to the student dorms. “The von Riegan heir returned today. He’s dragged her into some mischief, no doubt,”  Seteth stated. 

“The kid’s all right,”  Jeralt said. “A bit too nosy for my liking, but he doesn’t mean any harm.”

Seteth scoffed. “You realize the two spend an inordinate amount of time together. Aren’t you concerned about your daughter’s virtue?”

Throwing back his head,  Jeralt’s booming laugh startled passers-by. “I’m not her keeper,  Seteth . And she knows how to fend off unwanted advances. Besides,” he winked at the advisor, “I’ve yet to see her show an interest in anybody. When that day comes, then I’ll interfere.”

Seteth frowned his disapproval. “You shouldn’t be so cavalier about your daughter’s reputation.”

“What reputation? She’s a mercenary. It’s a miracle the only one she’s built is that of the Ashen Demon. That’s not one that brings the boys knocking around, if you know what I mean.” 

“I suppose,”  Seteth replied. He grabbed  Jeralt’s arm. “Wait. That wasn’t there before.” He pointed to an obscured passageway. 

“You don’t think they found their way down to the Abyss, do you?”

“The Abyss?”  Seteth blinked. “I’m not familiar with that part of the monastery.”

“I thought you knew about it, being Rhea’s advisor and all.”

“As we established previously, she doesn’t tell me everything,” he said, scowling. “What is it?”

“Rhea explained it to me once, and it made sense at the time, but now I’m wondering if she had the right of it,”  Jeralt said, sighing. He crossed his arms. “It’s a refuge, of sorts, for people unwanted by  Fodlan . All sorts of people are down there, from all over the world. Rhea said they would be better protected under the Church’s shelter than fending for themselves.”

“These...people...are they wanted criminals?”

“Some of them,”  Jeralt shrugged. “Others are just poor and misfortunate enough to incur some noble’s wrath. Most of them just want to be left alone.”  Seteth shook his head, upset at this newest revelation. “If they really have stumbled down there, we better fetch them. Who knows what kind of people will take offense to them?”

“Knowing Claude, a great many,” Seteth muttered.

*

“You all passed,” Yuri said, dusting himself off. “And not too soon, either.” He nodded to Hapi. “Tell the others to proceed with the plan.” She nodded, leaving the room.

“Mind telling us what’s going on?”  Byleth asked, crossing her arms.

“Please,” Ashe said wearily. 

“You’re a relatively neutral third party,” Yuri stated. “As such, the inhabitants of the Abyss won’t resent your aid like they would the Knights. And, since you are associated with the Church, we know you’re not the ones wreaking havoc down here.”

Constance snapped her fan open and shut angrily. “Someone has dared to hire mercenaries to invade the Abyss. We do not know their intentions, only that they are searching for something of value.”

“We could use your help shooing them away until we figure out who is behind this and why.”

“And you want our help?” Claude asked, putting his hand on his hip. “What’s in it for us?”

Yuri smiled. “I like you,” he said. “Can I bribe you with access to our library?”

Claude’s eyes gleamed greedily. “Are those books different from what’s upstairs?”

“Very,” promised Yuri, leaning in close. “They’re the books you’re not allowed to see.”

Linhardt popped up beside them, suddenly very awake. “I’m in,” he said. “Show me the way.”

“Not so fast, Linhardt,” Edelgard said, grabbing his shoulder. “We have to help them first.”

“I suppose,” he replied, resigned. 

“How do you intend to stop the mercenaries?” Dimitri asked. 

Yuri smirked. “I’m glad you asked. Here’s the plan...” He drew the seven students into a huddle to share the strategy. “Are we agreed?” The others nodded determinedly. Yuri leaned back to look at  Hapi . “Oh, and Hapi?”

“What’s up, Yuri-bird?”

“No sighing please.”

“Not even a little one?”

“Do you want the ceiling to cave in on us?” he asked rhetorically. 

“I guess not,” she grumbled. “You never let me have any fun.”

Balthus slapped her on the back heartily. “Don’t worry pal. There’ll be plenty of opportunities later.”

*

“They keep...on...coming...” panted Linhardt. “I’m nearly out of healing.”

“I can do for you in a pinch, if you need it, pal,” Balthus offered. 

“Thank you.”

“Where are all these people coming from?” Ashe asked, bewildered. 

“I told you we were having trouble,” Yuri replied. “If it were a few mercenaries, we could have handled it by ourselves.” He nodded to  Byleth . “Thanks, by the way.”

“No problem,” she said, wiping her sword clean. Out of all of them, she was the most covered in blood and bits and the least tired. 

“Hey,  Byleth ?” asked Hilda, holding her pigtail out with a disgusted expression. “How do you get blood out of hair?”

“Not now, Hilda,” Claude said, shooting an arrow at an enemy behind her. “Worry about that after we live through this.”

Constance laughed, soaring above. She unleashed Bolting upon the intruders. “All will fall before my might and tremble!”

“Might want to rein it in a little, Coco,”  Hapi reminded. “You’re scaring the tourists.” She trampled several enemies under the hooves of her horse, saving Edelgard from being crushed by an incoming wave. 

“Is that all of them?” asked Dimitri wearily. 

“Just about,” Yuri replied. “Anyone know what’s going on with that one guy?” He pointed his thumb at the Death Knight. Claude shrugged. Edelgard shook her head. 

“Isn’t he the skeleton man from the Holy Tomb?” asked Hilda. “Why is he here?”

“He’s carrion,”  Byleth said flatly. “Drawn by the promise of blood.”

“How poetic,” Linhardt said faintly. 

“He’ll leave if we ignore him,”  Byleth added. 

“Leave the scary man alone. Got it,” Yuri said. With everyone’s attention on the Death Knight, no one noticed a lone mercenary making his way towards Yuri. 

“Look out!” Ashe yelled, drawing his arrow too slowly. 

“Not today,” said a calm voice, striking the man down. “Not my flock.”

“Elfie!” exclaimed  Hapi , relieved. “You’re back!”

“And not a moment too soon,” he replied, looking at the bedraggled crew. “Newcomers?” he asked, pointing to the students. 

Yuri shook his head. “Just some tourists wandering in. Thought we’d ask them for help.”

“We needed the backup,” Balthus added. 

“You have my thanks,” the man said, bowing. “I am Aelfric. Lady Rhea has given me oversight of the Abyss.”

“I am Dimitri Alexandre  Blaiddyd ,” Dimitri replied, bending slightly at the waist. 

“And I am Crown Princess Edelgard von Hresvelg,” Edelgard interjected.

“As you can see, we’re students of  Garreg Mach,” Claude said nonchalantly, leaning back slightly with his hands behind his head. 

“Then you must be,” Aelfric said, zeroing in on  Byleth . He hesitated, hand hovering over her shoulder. “You do resemble your mother.”

Byleth stepped back, unsettled by his overbearing presence. “You knew my mother?”

“Yes. I know your father too. Though I haven’t had time to reintroduce myself since his return.” He withdrew his hand, tucking it into his robe. “Perhaps you would like to hear more about your mother’s life at the monastery.”

Byleth nodded slightly. “I would like that. Thank you.”

He turned to the others. “The hour is late. If you want to return to your rooms without fear of discipline, I suggest you leave now.”

A loud disapproving noise drew their attention as  Seteth and  Jeralt entered the arena. “There you are,” the irritated professor said. “Do you have any idea what time it is?”

“ Byleth ,”  Jeralt frowned. “Explain.”

“Can I wash first?” she asked, peeling her jacket off. “The blood’s congealing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Balthus: "Step on me, Byleth."  
> She steps on him.   
> "Not like that."


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well, if it isn't the consequences of my actions.

“Let us reconvene in the Cardinal’s Room,” Aelfric invited. “Once we send these students to their beds.”

Seteth glared at the errant teenagers. “Tomorrow you will all gather in the Golden Deer classroom to explain your behavior tonight. Is that understood?”

“Yes, professor,” they chorused. Out of all of them, only Ashe looked ashamed.  Seteth wondered if he needed to add names to his list of misbehaving students. 

“Now go clean up,” he instructed. “You smell like death.”  Jeralt led the students out of the Abyss.  Seteth stayed to talk with Aelfric. “Tell me about this place,” he said. “I only learned of it tonight.”

Aelfric’s eyes widened in surprise. “I thought Lady Rhea would have trusted you with this information.”

“I am only her advisor. I do not know all her secrets,”  Seteth snapped. He rubbed his forehead tiredly. “My apologies.  Usually I have better control of my temper. My relationship with Lady Rhea has been strained ever since I took charge of the Golden Deer.”

“I understand,” Aelfric nodded sympathetically. “You have quite a load to bear.”

Seteth chuckled wryly. “You don’t know the half of it.”

Aelfric hesitated before asking, “I dislike to add to your burdens, but the youths here do need someone to guide their education. Would it be possible for the Ashen Wolves to sit in on your classes whenever they are able?”

“I will ask Miss Eisner if she feels comfortable leading class one day of the week. She is my teaching assistant.”

“I see. I appreciate your consideration.”

Seteth yawned, “I beg your pardon. It is past my bedtime as well.”

Aelfric smiled. “Shall I bring tea to the conference room, then?”

“I would appreciate it. Though Captain Jeralt might prefer something stronger.”

“I have coffee as well.”

“That’s not what-”  Seteth sighed. “He will be grateful.”

*

Jeralt led them to the  Abysskeeper , introducing them to the guard. “These kids are helping out down here. Remember their faces, okay?”

“I’m not their babysitter,” the man groused. 

“You don’t have to be. Just know they’re allowed down here.”

During this exchange, Claude and Linhardt snuck into the library behind them. Gleefully, the two pilfered texts off the shelves. “There’s so much knowledge here!” Linhardt exclaimed. 

“I can’t wait,” Claude added. 

Byleth came in, arms crossed. “We’re leaving now. Take what you have and let’s go. We can always come back.”

“Aww,” Claude pouted. “I just started!”

Linhardt smugly stuffed several books into his baggy pants. “Why do you think I wear these?”

“Because they’re roomy?” Claude asked. 

“I know that’s not why you wear yours,” Linhardt replied knowingly. “How many knives do you have there?”

Claude gasped. “How dare you imply I’m using my clothes to conceal weapons.” He winked.

“Cut it out you two,”  Byleth scowled. “I’d like to clean up and go to bed.” She paused, hand on the doorway. “Besides, I know for a fact Hubert does the same.”

“How do you know?” Claude asked, frowning. 

“Have you been naughty?” Linhardt added. 

“Of course not, don’t be stupid,”  Byleth said. “I know because I saw the imprint of them when we were sparring in Manuela’s class yesterday.”

A look of relief briefly appeared on Claude’s face. He quickly copied Linhardt and the two snuck their ill-gotten gains upstairs.  Byleth rolled her eyes. “They’re not exactly being subtle about it, if they want to hide what they’re doing.”

Sothis appeared, laughing. “I can see the corners of the books poking out of the fabric.”

“ So can everyone else, if they decide to look.”  Byleth entered her room, gathering up clean clothes.

The girl floated above  Byleth’s head, leaning her elbow on top. “Is that true, what you said about Hubert?”

“That I saw his knives when we sparred?”

“Yes.”

“It’s true.”

“That’s too bad,” Sothis pouted. “I was hoping for a little more spice.”

“Get your own love life, then,”  Byleth retorted. “I’m not allowed to have one.”

“I don’t know about that,” Sothis teased. “The Ashen Wolves are fair game.”

“I barely know them,”  Byleth said. “Even if I was interested.”

Sothis sighed lustily. “I want to run my hands down Balthus’s abs.”

“Hearing that come from your mouth is very upsetting,”  Byleth said. “How old are you, again?”

“I’m ancient,” Sothis said, flipping her braids behind her. “Old enough to know I’d love to have Yuri’s hair in my fingers.”

Byleth gagged. “Please stop.”

Giggling, Sothis floated before  Byleth . “I know you feel the same. They are quite the attractive pair.”

“I’m too busy,”  Byleth protested, picking up soap and hair lotion. “Now shoo. I’m going to bathe.”

*

Jeralt sat back in the chair with a loud sigh. “What a night,” he groaned. Aelfric set a cup of steaming coffee before him. “Thank you.”

Seteth poured tea for himself, handing the pot to Aelfric. “What are we going to do about the students?”

“How do you usually punish kids when they break curfew?”  Jeralt asked. “Should they even face discipline? They were helping people in need.”

“ Of course they should,”  Seteth said, frowning. “They should have reported this to the Knights. Instead, they went gallivanting into danger.”

“How is that different from what the Church has been asking them to do?” 

“Gentlemen,” Aelfric interrupted. “The issue at hand concerns the Ashen Wolves as well. I propose we assign your students community service, to be served in assisting the Ashen Wolves with this problem.”

“But that’s not a punishment at all!”  Seteth said, aghast. “That’s a reward!”

Jeralt chuckled. “I’ll supervise them. It won’t feel like a prize then.”

“I am responsible for them, I will stay with them,”  Seteth said.

Shaking his head,  Jeralt replied, “Your plate’s full enough. Besides, who will care for your other students if you’re in the Abyss with these ones?”

“You make a fair point,”  Seteth conceded. “Very well. I will inform their teachers that they are on a special assignment until this affair is concluded.”

“Now,”  Jeralt said, leaning forward on the table. “It’s been a while, Aelfric.”

“It has,” the other man acknowledged. “I apologize for not visiting with you sooner. My duties have kept me away.”

“I understand. How long have you been in charge of the Abyss?”

“I have guided my flock for fifteen years,” Aelfric said. “It has its challenges, but I am rewarded with the satisfaction of being useful to those in need.”

Seteth nodded approvingly. “I am certain your kindness is appreciated.”

“However,” Aelfric added, “I would be remiss in omitting my discomfort with the current situation of the people. The Church has held the position that the  Abyssian residents are a blight on its reputation and as such, does not allocate the resources necessary to provide a comfortable living environment. With your help, I believe we could change that.”

“I will petition Lady Rhea to reconsider her stance,”  Seteth promised. 

Aelfric’s eyes narrowed. “And how will this change things?”

Seteth opened his mouth, taken aback. “I...” He shut his mouth, upset. 

“I can send some of my mercenaries to scout for safe places to relocate the people who want to leave,”  Jeralt offered. “As to the ones who want to stay, perhaps we should ask them what they need.”

Seteth shot  Jeralt a grateful look. “Very well,” Aelfric said. “I expect to see your students tomorrow evening.”

“We’ll be there,”  Jeralt said.

*

“I know what they’re after,” Linhardt declared confidently. “I stumbled upon it in my reading last night.”

“Care to share?” Edelgard asked, her foot tapping impatiently. 

“Ah, yes. An artifact of the Church lost to time,” he replied. 

“And?” asked Claude.

“Right, it’s called,” he flipped open a book and rifled through the pages until he arrived at the appropriate passage. “The Chalice of Beginnings.”

“I’ve never heard of it before,” Dimitri stated. “Perhaps Professor  Seteth would know of it?”

“Know what?”  Seteth asked, entering the classroom.

“About the Chalice of Beginnings,” Hilda said, sitting on top of a desk. He looked at her fiercely and she hopped down. 

Seteth frowned. “First I’ve heard of it.” He crossed his arms, deep in thought. “I will ask Lady Rhea what she knows before sending you to your punishment.”

“Aw, we’re being punished?” Hilda whined. “But I was tricked into coming along!”

Sternly,  Seteth lowered his chin at her. “Yet you chose to stay with them.”

“Well, duh!” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t abandon my friends.”

“Your loyalty is admirable,”  Seteth replied. “Regardless, the seven of you broke rules last night. As a consequence, you have been sentenced to community service starting tonight.”

Byleth raised an eyebrow, wondering what the catch was. 

“The Abyss is in need of aid and you will provide it until these interlopers are stopped. I have spoken to your professors, Ashe and Linhardt, and told them you have been put on special assignment with Dimitri and Edelgard. Any classwork you may miss will be set aside for you to make up later. Captain  Jeralt will supervise you in the Abyss until your work is concluded.”

Byleth nodded. “Whose idea was this?”

“Aelfric’s,”  Seteth said. “Though your father did give some input.” He glanced around. “Meet at the entrance to the Abyss after dinner.  Jeralt will escort you. I will see what information I can glean from the Archbishop. You are dismissed.”

Byleth stayed behind. “Was there anything else?” she asked Seteth.

“Yes. How would you feel about teaching the Ashen Wolves on one of your two days?”

“I don’t mind,”  Byleth said. “Though Balthus already graduated from the Academy. I doubt he needs any education.”

Seteth nodded. “He can still learn. If he gives you trouble, let me know.”

“He’s not the one I’m worried about,” Byleth muttered, leaving the room.

Seteth sat against a desk, sighing. “Rhea. You continue to surprise me with your secrets.”

*

The Ashen Wolves lounged in their makeshift classroom, waiting for the others to arrive. “Is this really a good idea, Yuri-bird?” asked  Hapi . “Letting them down here, I mean.”

Yuri shrugged. “Aelfric isn’t opposed to it.”

“I guess,” she said reluctantly. 

“We bring good tidings, everyone,” Claude said jovially, entering with a flair. “At least, we think we do.”

“Whatever do you mean?” asked Constance, waving her fan. 

“There’s a Church artifact that we believe may be hidden somewhere under the monastery. That’s probably what those mercenaries are after,” Linhardt explained. “Ever heard of the Chalice of Beginnings?”

“Enlighten us,” Yuri said coolly, buffing his nails.

“According to Professor Seteth, who had it from Lady Rhea, it’s a magical artifact that theoretically can revive the dead.”

“I can see why that’d interest people,” Balthus said grimly. “Does it work?”

“We don’t know,” Dimitri said. “Lady Rhea said that a ritual had been attempted unsuccessfully, but that it could still be possible.”

“Fortunately, there are requirements for the Chalice to work, and those have been lost to time,” Edelgard added.

Hilda borrowed Yuri’s nail file, working on hers. “It would be pretty funny if you four had the necessary Crests, wouldn’t it?”

“Crests?” Constance asked sharply. “What about them?”

Claude leaned forward on a desk. “Supposedly four beings with lost Crests powered the Chalice. They were known as the Apostles. But they disappeared after the failed rite and no one has seen their Crests since.” He drew the Crest symbols in the dust on the desk. “They looked like this.”

Captain  Jeralt entered the room, Ashe close behind him. “These guys are supposed to help you find it and stop whoever is paying those mercs to infiltrate the Abyss.” He grimaced. “Personally, I think it’s a crapshoot. You’re never going to find something so guarded.”

“Actually...” Constance said, tapping her fan against her face. “I feel as though I have seen those symbols before. Give me a moment to recollect my time at the School of Sorcery.”

While Constance thought, Ashe sidled next to Yuri. “We know each other, don’t we?” he asked.

Yuri glanced at him. “You’re Lonato’s ward. Sorry to hear about what happened.”

Downcast, Ashe stared at his feet. “Thanks. But we have met?”

“Once, when I lived at Count Rowe’s house.” Yuri smirked. “Where do you think Lonato picked up the idea?”

“Oh! I remember now!” Ashe said. “You look different.” Yuri cocked his eyebrow. “In a good way, that is,” Ashe added awkwardly. 

“Thanks, friend,” Yuri replied absently, patting Ashe on the shoulder. “You seem like a good kid. Try not to let the world twist that part of you.”

“I’ll do my best,” Ashe said earnestly. 

“Eureka!” Constance crowed. 

“What is it, Coco?”

“I have seen those symbols before, here, in an abandoned tunnel.”

“Let’s check it out,” Claude said.

“Not so fast,”  Jeralt cautioned, grabbing the back of Claude’s collar. “Half of you explore the tunnel with Constance. The other half stays here to dig up any other possible reasons a person would attack the Abyss.”

“I volunteer to stay,” Hilda said eagerly. 

“What a surprise,” Edelgard murmured. 

“If you have something to say, say it to my face,” Hilda threatened, holding the nail file at Edelgard’s nose.

“Ladies,”  Jeralt said, putting his hands on their shoulders. “Not now.” The two girls looked up at the big man and swallowed hard. He looked at  Byleth . “You’ve been awfully quiet. Got anything to contribute?”

She shook her head. “I think I’ll go find Aelfric and ask him a few things.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Splitting the group up does seem like a good idea. Yuri, Hilda, and Ashe should stay and poke around. The others should go with Constance.”

Linhardt yawned. “Wouldn’t I better serve our aims if I stayed and researched?”

“Nope,”  Byleth said, popping the word with her lips. “You’ll go off on a tangent because you’ll discover some other obscure thing. You’re the best healer. You should stay with the exploring group in case something goes wrong.”

“Knowing this group, something will,”  Jeralt murmured in her ear. The corner of her lip twitched upwards. 

“I’ll rejoin Yuri and the others once I’ve spoken to Aelfric.”

“Sounds like a plan,”  Jeralt nodded approvingly. 

“Can’t I come with you, Teach?” Claude asked. “I have some questions of my own.”

Byleth shook her head. “Write them down and hand them to me, then. You’re the only one versatile with a weapon.”

“Fine,” he said finally. “Know I do this under protest.”

“Noted.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go,” Dimitri said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied. There will probably be two more chapters of Cindered Shadows. I forgot how long this DLC is.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betrayed by trusted allies

Firmly but quietly,  Byleth knocked on the door to Aelfric’s office in the Abyss. “Do you need something, my child?” he asked, opening the door. 

“You offered to tell me about my mother,”  Byleth said. “Would it be too much trouble if we talked about her now?”

He smiled softly, inviting her in. “I would be happy to tell you about  Sitri .” He offered her a cup of tea. “Would you like some?”

“Thank you,”  Byleth said, accepting the cup but only to give her something to hold. She sat in an unused chair. “What was she like?”

He leaned back in an armchair, drinking from his own cup. “ Sitri was kind. I never saw her offer a harsh word to anyone. She loved to read because books allowed her to know more about the world outside.” He frowned, looking at his tea. “Her body was always frail. The Archbishop was rather overprotective of her. That’s why it surprised all of us when  Jeralt and  Sitri wanted to marry.” He looked up, smiling again. “He always knew how to make her happy. She reserved her brightest smiles for him.”

“How did they meet?” 

Aelfric chuckled. “As Captain of the Knights,  Jeralt was everywhere.  Sitri found ways to be where he was. She and I idolized him. I think I knew how  Sitri felt about  Jeralt before she did.” His hand tightened around the teacup. “To his credit, he never rebuffed her.”

“You sound almost jealous,” Byleth observed. 

He smiled wryly. “I was. I admit to harboring a small crush on  Sitri . And as much as I wanted to be like  Jeralt , I knew I could never be him to her. I took solace in the knowledge he returned her feelings. And then she...” his voice faltered. “Died. In childbirth. It destroyed us both. But it seems time has healed  Jeralt’s heart. I am glad.”

Byleth’s face remained impassive, despite knowing the truth was other than what Aelfric described. “And you? How has your heart recovered?”

He smiled sadly. “I am still searching for a salve to soothe my hurt. Perhaps that is why I dedicate my time to the residents of the Abyss. It is what she would have wanted.” They sat in silence,  Byleth feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. “You do so look like  Sitri . It is uncanny.”

“Glad I resemble one of my parents,” she remarked lightly, clenching the cup to mask her discomfort. “I did come with a secondary purpose, to inform you of our plans to protect the Abyss.”

He set the teacup down. “Ah, wonderful. What do you intend to do?”

“Have you heard of the Chalice of Beginnings?”  Byleth asked. 

Aelfric’s face paled. “Where did you learn about that?”

“Some book,”  Byleth said, waving her hand. “Anyway, we think that’s what they’re hunting for.”

“No,” Aelfric said, standing up abruptly. “You mustn’t. There are guardians protecting the Chalice. At least, according to what little records we have.”

Byleth bit her lower lip, agitated. “They already went looking for it,” she replied. “I think Dad went with them, so they should be okay.”

“I must go,” Aelfric said, hurrying her out the door. “Thank you for your visit.” He snatched the cup from her hands and set it down, jostling its contents. “They need to be stopped.”

“But we don’t know for sure it’s the Chalice,”  Byleth said, trying to slow him down. 

“It must be,” he replied. “Tell Yuri I’ve gone after them. He’ll know what to do.” Aelfric ran down the hall. “Go! Lives are at stake.”

*

Byleth rounded the corner, bumping right into Yuri’s chest. He smirked. “Eager, are we?”

She stumbled back, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. “There might be trouble,” she told him.

“What?” he asked, glancing sharply at her. 

“I was talking to Aelfric. And when I mentioned the Chalice, he all but pushed me out of his office to find them. He’s worried they’re in trouble. He  said you’d know what to do.”

Yuri frowned. “I see. I will have to take care of things on this end. Meet me in the classroom once you’ve gathered the other two.” She nodded. He paused, thinking. “Before I go, how about you and I go on a date tonight?”

“Are you kidding me?”  Byleth stared unamused at him. “Even if I were interested, which I’m not, your timing couldn’t be worse.”

“I beg to differ,” Yuri replied, taking her hand. “My timing is impeccable. Please? It’ll be worth your while to come.” He squeezed her hand earnestly. 

“Am I getting dinner and a show?” Byleth asked sarcastically. 

He laughed. “I don’t know about dinner...but I think I can promise a show. Meet me at the Holy Mausoleum exactly at midnight. Don’t be late. I’m depending on you.” His lips lightly brushed her knuckles. Yuri winked at her and left before receiving her answer. 

Delighted, Sothis poked  Byleth in the face. “Look at that smooth operator!”

Byleth cracked her knuckles. “He tries that again and I’m breaking his nose.” She grimaced, wiping her hand on her skirt. 

“Do you truly not find romantic interest in anyone?” Sothis groaned. “How utterly dull of you.”

“It’s not news that I’m boring,”  Byleth told her. “Now come on, I have to find Hilda and Ashe.”

*

“You know,” panted Claude, “when I said I wanted to know the Church’s secrets, I didn’t think it would involve so much fighting.”

“You’re awfully quippy for a boy about to be skewered by a giant mechanical doll,”  Jeralt said gruffly. 

“It’s,” Claude grunted, narrowly avoiding the blow. “How I cope with near death experiences.”

“Had a few then?” Edelgard asked.

“You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours,” Claude teased.

“Later, perhaps,” Edelgard replied evasively. She  clanged her axe against her shield, drawing the attention of the enemies. “Dimitri,” she called. “Think you and  Hapi ride behind them to shut off the mechanicals?”

“Use the key,” Balthus yelled, punching the foot of a doll. 

“I’ll stay back here,” Constance intoned. “I’ll only slow you down.”

“The personality change is quite uncanny,” Linhardt observed. “Sunlight triggers it?”

“Study her later,”  Jeralt commanded. “ Fight now.”

Dimitri cried out as a sharp spike stuck him in the side. “That wasn’t it,”  Hapi observed. “You okay, Didi?”

“I’ll be fine,” he replied, gritting his teeth. 

“Multiple locks? A fellow schemer organized this, no doubt,” Claude said, smiling appreciatively. 

“You would know,” Edelgard retorted. 

“Linhardt, heal Dimitri,”  Jeralt ordered.  Hapi screamed as the second lock released an axe trap, taking one in the leg. “Hapi, too.”

Linhardt closed his eyes and placed his hands together. Healing magic flowed from him to the injured parties. “Keep your eyes open, kid!”  Jeralt yelled.

“I got him, Captain,” Balthus said, guarding the younger man. 

“Look,” Constance said, pointing. “A light.”

Claude picked up the key from Dimitri and flew to the final lock. “Let’s hope this is the right one,” he grunted. The mechanical dolls ground to a halt. 

Collectively, the group sighed as they slowly inched towards the shining light. “Could it be?” Constance asked. “Has my luck turned at last?” She reached her hands into the hole and shakily drew out a golden goblet. 

A rumbling shook the area and  Jeralt said, “Retreat!” The golems began moving again and turned towards Constance.  Jeralt grabbed the young woman by the waist and hefted her behind him. “Sorry,” he apologized. “But we don’t have time for manners. Let’s move!” 

The students fled,  Jeralt leading the way. “This way,” Balthus said, leading them to a side chamber. 

“Good idea, B,”  Hapi said. “We can box them in here and escape.”

He laughed nervously. “I hope that gate still works after I punched it last time.”

“You neanderthal!” Constance shrieked. “You punched it?”

He shrugged. “I thought it would unstick.”

“Hurry up,”  Jeralt said, helping Constance off his horse. “I’ll guard your backs.”

“Be safe, Captain,” Claude said. “Teach would never forgive me if something happened to you.”

“It takes more than a golem to kill me,”  Jeralt said, grinning. “Now get out of here.”

*

Aelfric and Yuri greeted the returning students. “Wonderful,” Aelfric said, sighing in relief. “We were about to search for you.”

“Where’s  Byleth ?”  Jeralt asked. 

“She went looking for Ashe and Hilda. She’ll be here shortly.”

“All right,” he said, crossing his arms. “I have words for Lady Rhea when this is through. She omitted information that the dumb goblet was guarded.”

Aelfric nodded. “That is why we were leaving to find you, to warn you of the danger.”

“How did you know?” Jeralt asked. 

“I remembered an old story about treasure under the monastery guarded by fearsome magical creatures.” He hesitated. “Did you find it?”

Constance brandished the Chalice eagerly. “This discovery is a credit to House Nuvelle.”

“So it is,” Aelfric said, smiling gently. “We should celebrate your accomplishment. Yuri, a toast?”

“Of course,” Yuri said. “What wine should I use?”

“My private stock should do,” Aelfric said. Yuri nodded and went to fetch the cups and wine.

Hilda entered the room, panting. “ Byleth said you were in trouble?” She looked around. “Oh. I guess not?”

“We were in trouble, but we escaped,” Claude said. 

“I’m glad,” Ashe said, slipping in behind Hilda. 

“I hate to think of what would have happened without Captain  Jeralt to protect you,” Aelfric said somberly. “You all took a dangerous risk. I am thankful you returned safely. What’s more, you discovered a precious lost artifact. Once word spreads of its recovery, I hope the threat to the Abyss ceases to be a problem.”

“It will, Aelfric,”  Jeralt said, clapping a heavy hand on the Cardinal’s shoulder. “I’ve already asked Alois to provide men to patrol the tunnels outside the Abyss.”

“Thank you,” Aelfric said. 

Byleth entered with Yuri, helping him carry the cups. “I bumped into her outside,” Yuri said. 

“Is everyone fine?” she asked. 

Balthus stretched, wincing. “I mean, I have bruises on my bruises, but I’ll manage. Unless you want to kiss them better for me?” He winked. 

Claude stumbled right onto Balthus’s foot, stepping heavily on his toes. “Sorry, friend,” he said. “Didn’t see you there.”

“It’s fine,” Balthus replied, gritting his teeth. “No harm done.”

Jeralt glared at the big man. “You have stones, kid, to flirt with my daughter in front of me.”

“Oh, she’s your daughter?” Balthus asked sheepishly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Idiot,” Yuri said, rolling his eyes.

“Dad,”  Byleth scowled, crossing her arms. “I can handle myself.”

“I know,”  Jeralt replied. He gripped her shoulder fondly. “It’s not you I’m worried about.”

She rolled her eyes. “I hear congratulations are in order?”

“Indeed. We have found the Chalice,” Edelgard informed her. 

“We were about to drink a toast to its return,” Aelfric said. “Care to join us?”

“Sure,” she shrugged.  Byleth passed out the cups and Yuri poured. 

“To the Ashen Wolves,” Aelfric said, holding his cup aloft. 

“To the students,”  Jeralt added, copying Aelfric. 

“To new friends,”  Byleth said, staring evenly at Yuri.

“To new friends,” he repeated, eyes not leaving hers as they all drank deeply. Claude waited a beat before joining the rest. 

“This wine tastes funny,” Hilda said, slumping to the ground. 

“What did you lace this with?” Claude asked, his eyes growing heavy. He fought the drug, having some resistance to it. 

Yuri sighed and reached over to knock Claude over the head with the pommel of his dagger. “You would be the one to give me trouble,” he muttered. 

“Yuri?”  Byleth slurred. “What did you do?”

He brushed her hair out of her face. “Midnight, remember,” he whispered. “Sorry, friend.” Her eyelids fluttered shut. 

“Yuri?”  Hapi said weakly. “Why?” Her head lolled as the drug took over.

Aelfric nodded approvingly. “Excellent job, Yuri. Come. Let us begin the ritual.”

“You’ll release my mother as promised?” Yuri asked, eyes narrowed. 

“I always keep my promises,” Aelfric said, leaving the room. “Bring the Chalice.”

*

“Ow,” Claude said, holding his head. “Is this a hangover?”

Linhardt snored. “Is he still drugged?” Dimitri asked. 

“No,” Edelgard replied, scoffing. “He’s just asleep, the lazy ass.” She shook him awake. “Linhardt, we need you. Get up.”

“Five more minutes,” he muttered. She kicked him in the rear. He jolted upright, glaring at Edelgard. “What was that for?”

“Get up. We have a problem.”

“I’m up,” Linhardt grumbled. He looked around the room, seeing people in various stages of unconsciousness. “Did something happen?”

“We were drugged,” Claude said grimly. “Aelfric and Yuri betrayed us.”

“I knew a smelled a rat,” Hilda cried, stomping her foot. 

“Not so loud,” Ashe moaned. “Does anyone else hear pounding? Or is it just me?”

“Linhardt, if you please,” Edelgard said, tapping her foot. 

“Sure,” he yawned, casting a light heal on the room. 

“Much better,” Claude said, stretching. He looked at  Jeralt and  Byleth . “What’s the plan?”

Jeralt groaned, slowly rising. “I’ll round up the Knights to look for them. They can’t have gone far.”

“Actually,”  Byleth said quietly. “I think I know where they went.” The others looked at her, waiting for an explanation. “It might be a long shot,” she said hesitatingly. “But earlier Yuri asked me to meet him at the Holy Mausoleum at midnight.”

“What time is it now?” Dimitri asked.

“Have you heard any bells down here?” Edelgard snapped, hands on her hips. “Because I never have.”

“Enough,”  Jeralt barked. “I’ll find out. You all assemble in the Golden Deer classroom with your weapons and a change of clothes. I’ll update Lady Rhea on the situation.” He ushered them out of the room, striding purposely through the tunnels.

“Do you think the other Wolves knew?” Ashe asked. He clenched his fist. “I can’t imagine being betrayed by a close friend.”

“No,” Claude said. “They looked as surprised as we were.”

“What did Aelfric do with them?” Hilda said, worried. 

“How many Crests were required to use the Chalice?”  Byleth asked, frowning.

“Four,” Hilda gasped. “No! You don’t think?”

Claude nodded. “It was pretty obvious they had unusual Crests. They weren’t exactly subtle about hiding it.”

“Aelfric plans to use the Chalice,” Edelgard stated.

“To resurrect whom?” Dimitri asked, confused. “Who could he bring back from the dead to benefit himself?”

Byleth stopped, clutching her chest. She sank to the ground. “What’s wrong, Teach?” Claude asked, bending over her. 

“Dad,” she said weakly. 

Jeralt ran over. “Byleth?” 

She looked up at him, her eyes wide with distress. “I think...I think he plans to bring back  Sitri .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Let the bodies hit the floor  
> Let the bodies hit the floor  
> Let the bodies hit the floor  
> Let the bodies hit the floor"


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That's it. That's the summary:
> 
> https://arkus-rhapsode.tumblr.com/post/190857539088/10-years

Jeralt rushed upstairs, not waiting for the students to follow him. “Dad,”  Byleth cried, “wait!” He was already out of earshot. Frustrated,  Byleth pounded the ground. She stood up shakily, Claude assisting her. 

“I don’t understand,” Hilda said, twirling her hair. “Why do you think Aelfric is trying to resurrect your dead mom?”

“Because he’s in love with her,” Claude said. “It’s obvious.”

“You saw it too?”  Byleth asked.

“Yeah. Why do you think I wanted to come with you earlier? I didn’t want you alone with him. He looked at you funny.”

“Like he only saw her,” Byleth murmured.

“How kind of you, Claude, to worry over  Byleth ,” drawled Linhardt. “Pretty sure she can take care of herself.”

“Anyone who has ever seen her fight knows that,” Claude said. “But it doesn’t hurt to have a contingency when things go wrong.”

“A contingency...”  Byleth said, thinking. “Yes. That explains it.”

“What are you talking about?” Hilda said, huffing. “How is raising the dead is a contingency plan?”

“It’s not,”  Byleth answered. “But meeting me at midnight is.”

“I see,” Claude said. “Clever.”

“But why would he risk everything to bring her back?” Ashe asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“It does,” Dimitri interjected. “If you could resurrect those most precious to you, would you? I cannot say that I would refrain from trying.” A shadow passed over his face. Edelgard looked away, lost in her own thoughts. 

“Um, shouldn’t we catch up to Captain Jeralt?” Ashe asked, looking down the tunnel.

Byleth shook her head. “We’ll only be underfoot. For now, we should do what he said, to clean up and assemble in the classroom. Come on.”

As the seven students trudged up the tunnel, Claude reached out and touched  Byleth’s hand lightly. She looked back at him, puzzled. 

“Are you okay?”

“I guess,”  Byleth replied. “I haven’t had a rough day like you.”

“That’s not true,” Claude said, shaking his head. “We may have had a tough fight earlier, but that pales in comparison to finding out some dude wants to bring your mom back to life because  he has the hots for her.”

“She may have birthed me, but I don’t have any attachment to her,”  Byleth said quietly. “ Jeralt raised me. He’s my parent.”

“You’re right,” Claude said, sucking the air in between his teeth. “Still. If she looks anything like you, it’s going to be disorienting. I’m not looking forward to seeing what your corpse might look like.”

“I never thought of that,”  Byleth mumbled.

Claude clasped her shoulder. “We’ll get through it together, I promise.”

“Thank you,”  Byleth said, reaching up to grip his hand. “You’re a good leader, Claude.”

He waited a beat and then withdrew his hand, stuffing it in his pocket to hide his embarrassment. “Think nothing of it. I’d do this for any of the Deer.”

“Even Sylvain?” Byleth teased. 

“I guess,” Claude shrugged.

“What about Lorenz?”

“Only if he says pretty please,” Claude laughed. 

“Hey, slowpokes,” Hilda yelled. “We don’t have all night!”

“She’s right,”  Byleth said. “We need to hurry.”

*

A quick scrub and change later,  Byleth and the other students gathered in the classroom, where  Seteth and  Jeralt waited. “Lady Rhea and the Knights will follow us shortly,”  Seteth informed them. “They have other matters to deal with before they can join our rescue of the Ashen Wolves.”

“Do we have to save Yuri?” Hilda asked crossly. “He did betray his friends.”

“He had his reasons,”  Byleth said. “We should hear them before we judge his actions.”

“I agree with Hilda,” Claude said. “Yuri can’t be trusted.”

“Who said anything about trust?”  Byleth retorted. “I said we should withhold judgment. Yuri will have to earn trust if we spare him.”

Claude begrudgingly agreed with her statement. Hilda smirked at him. “I know why you don’t like him,” she quietly teased. “Fess up. You’re jealous.”

“You sure have an imagination, Hils,” he whispered back.

“Do you have something to share with the rest of us?”  Seteth asked, raising his brow.

“Nope,” Claude answered, shaking his head. “We’re ready to hear the plan.”

Jeralt laid a schematic of the Holy Mausoleum down on  Seteth’s desk. “Since we have no eyes in the Mausoleum, we don’t know where anyone is located. However, we can pinpoint weak areas and places where reinforcements might arrive.”

“Our priority is to stop the ritual,”  Seteth instructed. “We know it will not succeed, and the destruction it will cause could cave in parts of the Monastery. Free the Wolves if you can, but our goal is to take the Chalice away.”

“It’s likely freeing the Ashen Wolves will interrupt the ritual,” Edelgard pointed out. 

“If we’re not too late,” Claude added. 

“That must be why he told me midnight,”  Byleth realized. “Any sooner and Aelfric could escape. Any later, they would be dead.”

“Perhaps,”  Seteth conceded. “Which is why we must go. Midnight is nearly upon us. Are you all prepared?”

The students and  Jeralt nodded grimly. A hard glint appeared in  Byleth’s eyes. “He will not get away with this,” she promised. 

*

Sitri’s body lay raised on an altar, her hands placed around her waist. She appeared to be sleeping, but everyone knew it was only an empty shell. Aelfric caressed her face. “I will return you to this world,  Sitri ,” he swore. “All the sacrifices I’ve made will be worth it, if I can see you smile one more time.”

“That’s creepy, pal,” Balthus said, fighting his bonds. “Dead is dead. They should stay that way.”

“Someone like you would never understand,” Aelfric retorted scornfully. “The love I have for her is pure, strong enough to transcend death.”

“Huh. The whole time, Elfie was off his nut,”  Hapi observed. “Who knew?”

“I can think of one person,” Constance said, staring daggers at Yuri. “You rat. You traitorous snake! How dare you conspire against us, your friends.”

Yuri held up his bound hands. “Sorry. I couldn’t see another way to protect the people I care about.”

“How is this protecting us?” Constance yelled. 

“You really think I’d let us all die here?” Yuri said, slicing the rope around his wrists with a spiked blade in his boot. He shook his head, tsking at her. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

“Clearly we don’t know you at all,”  Hapi scowled. 

“When I break free, I’m going to rearrange your face,” Balthus swore. 

“Please don’t,” Yuri said, pulling a knife out of the side of his boot, tossing it to Balthus. “It’s my best feature.”

“You’re freeing us?” Constance asked, confused. “I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“What are you doing, Yuri?” Aelfric asked calmly. “Why would you undo my work?”

“I was biding my time,” Yuri replied. “I had to make sure all my chess pieces were in place. You can't hold my mother over me anymore.”

“I see,” Balthus said, nodding. “You were keeping your mom safe.”

“I knew you’d understand,” Yuri told him. 

“I’m still mad at you,”  Hapi said, crossing her arms. “You could have told us.”

“Constance can’t keep a secret to save her life,” Yuri pointed out. 

“I resent that!” she cried, pouting. 

“It’s too late,” Aelfric said. “The ritual has already begun. Whether you want to or not, your blood will give Sitri life.” The bells at the monastery began tolling. “Strange. Why would they ring those now?”

“It seems my queen has placed you in check,” Yuri chuckled. 

“I hope you’re not referring to me,” said an annoyed voice as  Byleth stepped out of the shadows.

He laughed, winking at her. “Just in time, friend.”

“Your chess metaphor needs work,” Claude added, popping out behind her. “ Byleth isn’t the queen.”

“What is she, then?” Yuri retorted, twirling his knife. 

“Not now, you two,”  Byleth said, irritated. She kicked Claude lightly in the ankle to shut him up. “We have other business to attend to first.”

“Right,” Yuri said, grinning. “The person you’re looking for is up there.”

“That body,” gasped  Seteth , looking at the altar. “It can’t be!” He did a double-take, turning to look at  Byleth and back at the body on display. 

“Huh. They really do look alike,” Hilda said. 

“No wonder Rhea wasn’t fooled,”  Byleth said, looking at Jeralt. “We’re like twins.”

Jeralt walked up to the altar, looking down at  Sitri’s body. A single tear ran down his haggard face. “Aelfric, please,” he said, looking at the Cardinal. “She wouldn’t have wanted this. Stop it now.”

“I cannot,” Aelfric replied, smiling at the corpse. “What I have put into motion will only end when her spirit returns to us.”

“The ritual doesn’t work,”  Seteth informed him. “It never has.”

Aelfric  laughed, his voice tinged in madness. “Who told you that? Lady Rhea? We can’t trust her. She lies as she breathes. Do you know where I found  Sitri ?” Aelfric pointed down. “She was in a sealed room under the Abyss. Her body was never buried in the dirt, as we were made to believe.”

“She is  unusually preserved,” Dimitri observed. 

“As if she has not decayed at all,” Edelgard added. 

“A little help?” Linhardt grunted as he pulled  Hapi away from the magic circle. “The blood loss is beginning to affect them.”

The students rushed to free the Wolves from the magic. “They’re still being drained,” Ashe yelled. “How do we stop it?”

Linhardt studied the runes carefully. “We have to take their place,” he said, stepping inside  Hapi’s vacated spot. Edelgard carried an unconscious Constance out and replaced her. Dimitri aided Balthus. Ashe stood in Yuri’s vacant circle. The magic powering the circles thrummed and shut down, no longer connected to the source.

“You  fools ! Stop that!” Aelfric screamed. 

“That’s enough, Aelfric,”  Byleth said, pointing her sword at him. 

“No!” he yelled, warping away. He reappeared behind  Byleth , gripping her arm tightly and holding a dagger to her neck. “You’re coming with me.  Sitri died because of you. Maybe if I give her your heart, she’ll return.”

Byleth scowled. “Do you know why I am the Ashen Demon?” she asked him. Not giving him time to answer,  Byleth stomped hard on his foot, elbowing him in the solar plexus. She threw his arm off and turned around, punching him in the nose. Her knee rose up and struck him painfully in the groin. The dagger fell to the ground with a clatter as Aelfric doubled over.  Byleth stood over him with an impassive stare. With a single strike, she sliced his head off. 

“No mercy,” she said, wiping her sword clean on his robes. “Not for you.” She nodded to  Seteth . “Is it okay if we destroy that thing?”

“But...” he looked at the goblet, thinking. “It’s a shame the Chalice was damaged in the ensuing fight between Aelfric and his hired men.”

A tight smile appeared on  Byleth’s face. “Dimitri, you’re the strongest. Think you can crush it?”

“It would be my pleasure,” Dimitri said, as he gripped the golden cup in his hands. Everyone winced at the sound of scraping metal, watching the Chalice crumple in Dimitri’s grip. “Whoops,” he said. Claude laughed. 

“Are we too late?” Lady Rhea asked, entering the room. She surveyed the area calmly. “I see you have already taken care of things. Very well.  Seteth ,  Jeralt , reconvene in my chambers.”

“What about the body?”  Byleth asked, arms crossed. 

Rhea’s eyes flicked to  Sitri’s corpse. “Leave it for now. We will properly entomb her tomorrow.”

“Rhea,”  Seteth hissed. “You know that’s not the proper way.”

“Not now,  Seteth ,” she commanded. “My chambers.” She exited with a sweep of her robes.

“Classy lady,” Balthus said admiringly. Everyone stared at him. He shrugged. “What? I appreciate beauty when I see it.”

“Only you, Balthus,”  Hapi grumbled. “I didn’t even get to sigh.”

*

Rhea,  Seteth , and  Jeralt gathered in her private chambers. She sat serenely in a chair watching  Jeralt and  Seteth pace around the room, agitated. 

“What was her body doing there, Rhea?”  Jeralt asked angrily. “I watched as we lowered her coffin in the ground.”

“I’m sorry,  Jeralt ,” she said. “I deceived you. I couldn’t bear the thought of  Sitri lying cold in the ground. I made her comfortable in an unused chamber, thinking no one would find her body.”

“That doesn’t explain why her body looks exactly the same as it does when she died,”  Jeralt snapped, slamming his hands on the tea table. 

“Rhea,”  Seteth said, upset. “Is she...”

“No,  Seteth . Not in the way you think.”

“Explain it to me,”  Jeralt said, crossing his arms. “There seems to be another secret I am unaware of.”

“ Sitri was like a daughter to me, as you know,  Jeralt ,” Rhea replied. “Like you, she received my blood. If she had survived childbirth,  Sitri would have lived a long life.”

“So...”  Jeralt frowned. “She wasn’t human.”

“Not wholly, anyway,” Rhea answered. “Unlike you, her body could not handle the power in my blood. That is why she was frail.”

“Rhea, how many more secrets will you hide from me?”  Seteth asked, frustrated.

“Enough,  Seteth ,” she said sternly. “It is for your own good I withhold information.”

Hurt,  Seteth opened his mouth to speak, then thought better of it. He changed the subject. “If she has your blood, Rhea, then she must be cremated. You know this.”

“Cremated?”  Jeralt asked, furrowing his brow. “I’m not against it, but why?”

“You saw her body, how it remained unchanged after all this time,”  Seteth pointed out. “It will continue to stay that way. To prevent anyone from misusing her corpse as Aelfric intended, we must burn all traces away. It is what was done for Sothis’s children when they walked the earth.”

“I cannot allow-” Rhea began. 

“No!”  Seteth yelled. “You will do this. You know why it must be done.” He covered his face and a small sob escaped his lips. “Think, Rhea. Think what would happen if people found out the truth. For  Flayn , please, do this.”

Rhea softened. “I will do this, with your permission, Jeralt.”

“I have nothing against it,” he said. “And I’d sooner not have anyone else desecrating my wife’s corpse.” He walked to the door, his hand on the knob. “Rhea, if I learn any more secrets about your interference with my family, I will do something about it.” He left and slammed the door shut. 

Rhea and  Seteth eyed each other. “I cannot believe you were so reckless!”  Seteth yelled. “Creating a doll with your blood! What were you thinking?”

“I-” Rhea sighed. “I wanted to bring Mother back.”

“She’s gone, Rhea. And because of your meddling, you have endangered  Fodlan . That Chalice stank of our enemies’ magic. What else have you done?”

“The girl,  Sitri’s daughter,” Rhea said. “She has  Sitri’s heart. Mother’s heart.”

“What purpose does that serve?”  Seteth roared. “Are you trying to bring danger to our doorstep?”

“I am trying to save  Fodlan . Only Mother can fix things,” Rhea stated adamantly. 

“I can’t believe you,” he said, shaking his head. “If anything happens to  Flayn because of your experiments, I will no longer support your efforts.” 

“ Seteth !  Cichol , wait!” Rhea cried, reaching out to him as he left. She sank back into her chair, weeping. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any guesses which chess piece Claude thinks Byleth is?
> 
> This chapter ended darker than I intended. Welp. Enjoy your holidays. I hope you're staying safe and socially distanced.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparing for Conand Tower

They held a small private ceremony for Sitri before burning all trace of her body away. Byleth held Jeralt’s hand, silently comforting him as he wept. Seteth later handed them an urn with her ashes inside. “What would you like us to do with these remains?” 

Jeralt refused them, shoving the jar back into Seteth’s hands. “Bury them. It’s where she should have been all this time.” He stomped off. Byleth sighed. 

She shot Seteth an apologetic glance. “Thank you,” she said. 

“It is the least we can do,” Seteth replied. “We owe you.” 

Byleth shook her head. “It’s not me that the Church owes.” She looked in the direction Jeralt had gone. “Have his knights keep an eye on him. He shouldn’t be alone right now. He...” her voice dropped. “Just keep him away from alcohol.” 

“I’m fairly certain he could help himself to Manuela’s stash and no one would be the wiser,” Seteth replied. 

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she murmured. “I’ll see you in class tomorrow, Professor.” 

“Take a few days off,” he said absently. “All of you have earned it.” 

A small smile appeared on her face. “Going soft on us?” 

“No,” he said, lightly chuckling. “I would never do that.” 

* 

“Sylvain, you should hear it from me first,” Seteth said, meeting the Gautier heir in his office. “Lady Rhea has given us our task for this month. Our assignment is to apprehend thieves who have stolen your family’s Relic. The leader is your brother, Miklan.” 

“He’s not my brother,” Sylvain said flatly. “Haven’t you heard? My father disowned him.” 

“Then you are not worried about a conflict of interest?” Seteth asked, concerned. 

Sylvain smiled bitterly. “The sooner he’s dead in the ground, the better. Trust me, Professor. We’re doing the world a favor.” 

Stunned, Seteth blinked at Sylvain. “Have you no love for your brother?” 

“Any affection I had disappeared the day he abandoned me to die in a cold well. Forgive me, Professor, if I find it difficult to care about that waste of space,” Sylvain spat. “Excuse me, sir.” He bowed jerkily and left. 

“Was that Sylvain?” Byleth asked, entering the room. 

“Yes.” Seteth frowned. 

“He sexually harassing people again?” 

“Uh, no, it’s about our mission for the month.” He paused, her words catching up to him. “Again? It’s happened before?” 

“I took care of it,” she shrugged. 

He opened his mouth and thought better of it. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat. “Anyway, we will be heading into Kingdom territory to eliminate bandits. The ringleader is Miklan Gautier, who has stolen the family Relic.” 

“How is he related to Sylvain?” Byleth asked astutely. 

“Miklan is the disinherited older brother of Sylvain. There is bad blood between them, as I have recently learned.” 

“Should we allow Sylvain to come, then?” Byleth asked, crossing her arms. 

“Somehow, I believe nothing would prevent him from following us if we tried to keep him away. He will come along, as will the rest of our class.” 

“And the Wolves?” Byleth said, chewing on her thumb. 

“If they desire to join us, they may. How is your class of four progressing?” 

“Hapi has had very little education, and the other three are helping me teach her to read and write. This has taken up the bulk of our time. Frankly, Balthus has no business being a student at his age. I propose we pay off his debts in exchange for his battle experience. As for Yuri and Constance, they do well in their studies provided I keep them interested. I’m having trouble finding magic esoteric enough to keep Constance’s attention.” 

“Perhaps it would be better if Constance transferred to Hanneman’s tutelage,” Seteth mused. 

Byleth shook her head. “I don’t want them to be separated. They’re the only family they have right now. I’ll ask Hanneman and Manuela for help. I’m sure they will have ideas.” 

“Very well.” Seteth shuffled papers on his desk, hesitating. “Again, I am sorry you and your father have been involved in events of late. To redress this situation, I would like to meet with you and Jeralt to discuss my involvement in the Church’s affairs. You have earned that much. What information Rhea will share with me I intend to pass to you as well. It is only fair you know the secrets involving yourself.” 

Touched, Byleth clutched her hand over her heart. “Thank you. That means a lot.” 

He coughed, embarrassed. “Yes, well. About Balthus, I will look into finding a better role for him. I agree he is far too old to spend all his time with younger people.” 

“Honestly, I’m more worried about Manuela,” Byleth muttered. 

“What do you mean?” 

“It cannot have escaped your notice that Balthus...appreciates...older women. In turn, Manuela doesn’t shy away from dumb handsome men. They’re a disaster waiting to happen.” 

“You may be correct,” Seteth murmured. He handed Byleth a sheaf of papers. “Please requisition these items by the end of the week so that our trip to Conand Tower goes smoothly.” 

“Of course,” Byleth said, taking the papers from him and tucking them under her arm. “Is there anything else?” 

Seteth shook his head. “Keep an eye on Sylvain, that is all.” 

“I do that anyway,” she retorted, leaving the room. 

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, sighing. Seteth ran his hands through his hair, worrying. “Is it wise to allow Flayn to join us this time?” 

* 

Sylvain leaned against a wall, surrounded by women vying for his attention. “Ladies, please,” he said, winking. “There’s plenty of me to go around.” 

Byleth rolled her eyes, walking past to purchase supplies. “He seems fine,” she observed. 

Sothis disagreed. “I have noticed he treats women as a coping mechanism, discarding them when he feels better about himself.” 

“Great. He’s one of those.” 

“Perhaps he needs someone to teach him healthier methods,” the girl suggested. 

“It won’t be me,” Byleth thought. “They don’t pay me enough for that.” 

Sothis giggled. “True enough. They hardly pay you at all.” She glanced at Byleth mischievously. “Although...spending all that one-on-one time with Balthus and Yuri is a reward in and of itself.” 

“You really need to stop that,” Byleth sighed. “I’m not interested.” 

Sothis smirked. “Would a woman be preferable? Do you like them dark and deadly?” she teased. “I think Shamir might be unavailable.” 

Byleth groaned, pulling at her hair. “Shut up!” She stopped, realizing how her actions might look to outsiders. Byleth awkwardly glanced around, embarrassed, and continued browsing the wares on display. After a productive hour, Byleth left the stalls arms full. She bumped into a very guilty-looking Sylvain. 

“Hey, Byleth,” he said, eyes darting around. “Fancy meeting you here.” 

“I walked past you not one bell ago,” Byleth replied. “Have your bevy of beauties left for the evening?” 

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “Actually, a girl I was seeing made a scene. She thought we were exclusive when I made no such promises.” 

“You’re a jerk, Sylvain.” 

“What can I say?” he laughed darkly. “It runs in the family. I suppose you know already that we’re supposed to retrieve my family Relic from bandits.” 

“I met with Seteth earlier, yes.” 

“Does it bother you that we’ll be hunting down my brother?” he asked, gazing at her sharply. 

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that question?” 

“I made my peace with the inevitability years ago. Honestly, I’m surprised it took him that long. He always wanted to be me.” Sylvain’s face twisted into an ugly expression. “I never asked to be heir. It’s not like I could control being born with a Crest.” Resentful, he scowled at Byleth. “How did you manage to live so long without knowing you had one? A rare one, at that?” 

Byleth shrugged, juggling the bundles in her arms. “Dad never cared about Church stuff.” 

“Must be nice, to grow up normal.” 

Byleth blinked at him. “Normal? Me?” 

Ignoring her disbelief, Sylvain continued to rant at her. “You never had to worry about people using you, wanting you to breed babies for them, wanting your favor.” 

Gritting her teeth, Byleth replied, “I have to return these supplies to Seteth, but when I am finished, we will continue this conversation so that I can educate you about your erroneous assumptions.” 

Sylvain grabbed Byleth’s elbow. “I’m not finished.” 

She jerked out of his hold. “You are. Calm down before you say something you’ll regret.” 

“I hate you,” he spat coldly. “You live carefree of the burden the rest of us have. One day I’ll show you what it means to bear a Crest. You’ll pay for your ignorance, and I’ll be the one collecting it.” 

Holding back words, Byleth bit the inside of her cheek, drawing blood. Quiet and tense, she left Sylvain angrily standing there. Byleth waited until she was out of his sight and sprinted towards Seteth’s office. She dumped the supplies in front of his desk and hid in Jeralt’s empty office, huddling behind his couch, huffing for air. 

* 

“What did you say to Byleth?” Claude asked, startling Sylvain. 

The redhead whirled around, feigning innocence. “I told her the truth. Why?” 

“It didn’t look like a friendly conversation,” Claude observed. “In fact, it looked downright menacing.” 

“It’s none of your business,” Sylvain snapped. 

“It is when you threaten one of my friends,” Claude said, keeping a friendly smile on his face despite the hard glint of his eyes. “Did you threaten her?” 

Sylvain put his hands in front of him defensively. “I was joking. It’s not my fault she can’t handle a simple joke.” 

“Then why wasn’t she laughing, Sylvain?” Claude asked, dropping the amiable façade. “What did you tell her?” 

“You’re just as bad as she is,” Sylvain accused, “thinking everyone’s the same when reality is far different. It’s nobles against commoners; Crested against everyone else. Pretending otherwise does everyone a disservice.” 

“The current systems in place may reward that attitude, but it’s going to change,” Claude promised. 

“When?” Sylvain snarled. “Ten, twenty, or thirty years from now? I’m not waiting around, Claude, for some far away hope that things will change when we’re old. I need it sooner than that. Otherwise, my father will shackle me to the first respectable woman who agrees to pop out babies until there’s an heir. If I’m lucky, it will be someone I already know, like Ingrid. But I don’t want that to happen to her. She deserves better.” 

Claude reached up and grasped Sylvain by the collar. “It’s going to change. Teach and I will make sure of it.” 

“What did you promise her in exchange for her support? Her hand in marriage?” 

“We’re friends,” Claude spat, “something apparently foreign to you.” 

Sylvain sneered. “I’ve seen the way you look at her. You’re always studying her when she fights, and it’s not because of her strength. You like her shapely form.” 

“I have eyes, Sylvain!” Claude yelled. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t looked. But that’s where it ends. Because I care about her. She’s not a pawn on a chessboard to me; not an alliance by marriage, either. Did it ever occur to you maybe Captain Jeralt took her away from the monastery to avoid this specific kind of toxic nonsense? We all have our hang-ups about Crests. You’re the only one being an asshole about it,” Claude said, shaking Sylvain by the shirt. 

Despite the height difference, Claude’s archery training gave him enough strength to lift the taller man off the ground. “Don’t you ever say she doesn’t understand what we’ve been through. Ever since she came here, that’s all it has been. You have no idea what happened down in the Abyss, how it affected her. Get over yourself already.” Claude released Sylvain and walked away. “If I hear you’re still spouting garbage at her, you won’t want what I’ll do next.” 

Sylvain stayed splayed out on the ground, head hanging. “I-” 

“Think about what you’ve said. For your sake, you better apologize.” 

Sylvain cradled his head in his hands, hot, angry tears running silently down his face. 

* 

“Byleth? Is something the matter?” Jeralt said, stepping into his office. 

“Dad!” she cried, leaping up behind the couch. “How did you know I was here?” 

He enveloped her in a hug. “You always hide in my stuff when you’re upset.” 

“I do?” 

“Yup. It must feel safe, or something.” 

“I guess it does,” Byleth said thoughtfully. 

“So what’s wrong, kid?” 

Byleth frowned slightly. “Some interpersonal conflict.” She looked up at him. “I don’t think he meant it.” 

“Who do I need to talk to?” Jeralt asked grimly. “I’ll correct him.” 

“Please don’t, dad. You can’t fight my battles forever.” 

“As long as I’m alive, you can count on me,” he promised, ruffling her hair. “Sure you don’t want my help?” 

“It might make it worse if you do,” she replied honestly. “Apparently I’m a spoiled brat because I’ve never experienced prejudice about my Crest.” 

“That’s bullshit,” Jeralt told her. 

“I know,” she replied simply. “And when he calms down, I’ll tell him that.” 

“You know, Seteth is your professor. It is his responsibility to mediate this sort of thing.” 

“Dad,” Byleth said, staring evenly at Jeralt. “I can handle it. If I need help, then I will ask him.” 

“All right. I worry about you because I love you. You know that, right?” 

“Yeah. Thanks, dad.” She hugged him. “Besides, I haven’t been afraid of spoiled nobles since I was little. I’m not going to start now.” 

“That’s my girl,” Jeralt laughed. “I could eat something. Want to see if the kitchen has any goodies?” 

Byleth nodded, trailing behind him. She waved at Claude, who was passing by. He smiled, waving back. “We’re raiding the kitchen,” she told him. “Want to come?” 

Claude shook his head. “Thanks, but the library’s emptiest at this time. I’m going book hunting.” 

“Have fun,” Byleth said. 

“You too,” he replied, shooting her a coded look. She tilted her head at him, confused. "Later," he mouthed. She nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taking a brief hiatus from this fic to work on something else. I've been having trouble focusing because my attention is elsewhere. If you're interested, I'm going to be writing Ignis's route from Cafe Enchante. I won't stay away from Claude and Byleth too long, but I need a creative break to recharge.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing interesting happens, just a bunch of people talking and baring their souls. NBD.

“You okay?” Claude asked, plopping down next to  Byleth on the floor. “You looked out of sorts earlier.”

“How could you tell?” she asked. 

“You were wearing your blank face again. That, and I saw you and Sylvain having a very unfriendly conversation. Want to talk about it?”

She leaned back against her bed. “I don’t know.”  Byleth fiddled with her knife, polishing the blade. “I don’t really understand how I feel.”

“Can you describe it for me?” Claude asked, putting his arms behind his head. 

“I wanted to punch him. I wanted to hide. And there was another feeling that I never had before. It felt like when I’m injured on the battlefield, but inside.”

“Sounds like you had perfectly normal reactions. You were angry and scared and hurt.”

“Is that what those emotions are called?” she wondered, looking at him.  Byleth drew her legs in close, hugging her knees. “Even though I’m not expressive, I do have feelings. They used to be muted, but ever since we recovered the Sword of the Creator, everything has been...more.”

“I know.” Claude smiled. “Today was the first time I think I saw you truly upset. What did he say to you?”

“He hates me,”  Byleth mumbled, hiding her face in her legs. 

“I don’t know if that’s true,” Claude replied. “Sylvain has a rather complicated view of life. It’s not that he hates you, but what you represent to him.”

“He’s stupid,”  Byleth said, poking her head up.

“I agree,” Claude laughed. “I hope he figures that out soon.”

A smile tugged at the corner of  Byleth’s lips. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Cheering me up. Spending time with me. Treating me as a friend, not just an enigma.”

Claude covered his eyes, embarrassed. “I’m not a good friend.”

“You’re trying. Neither one of us have had people we can rely on, huh?”

“How did you know?” He glanced at her, curious. 

“You wear a fake smile most of the time. It’s changing a little, around me, but usually it’s a mask.”

“Your blank face is yours,” Claude replied. 

“How did you know?”

“I saw you smile the first night here. It was barely there, but I noticed it. And I wanted to know what it would take to shatter that mask all the way.”

“Have I done that yet?”  Byleth asked, leaning her face closer. 

He shook his head, moving back. “I haven’t seen it. When it happens, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay.”  Byleth sat her chin on her knees. “I’m not looking forward to talking to Sylvain.”

“Do you want me to be with you?”

“No. Thank you, but I have to do this on my own.”

“Not everything has to be done alone,” Claude said. 

Byleth smirked. “Pot, meet kettle.”

He laughed. “Got me there. I’ll try harder to work with you.”

“I need you to. What I’ve learned about  Conand Tower worries me. It’s a giant trap.”

*

The next day, Sylvain stood in front of Seteth’s closed door, hesitating. He lifted his arm to knock and stopped. Taking a deep breath, he decided to follow through. “Enter,” said Seteth. 

Sylvain pushed the door open and walked in. “Sylvain, to what do I owe the pleasure?”  Seteth asked mildly, peering up at him. 

“I wanted to discuss  Conand Tower with you,” Sylvain replied, shifting nervously. 

“You’ve changed your mind about going?” Seteth asked, leaning back in his chair. 

“No. I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”  Seteth steepled his fingers together and leaned onto the desk. 

“Don’t bring any of the ladies along. Especially not the younger ones. Please.”

“And why should I do that?”

“You’ve probably heard what the thieves have done to the women they’ve come across. I don’t want that to happen to my classmates.”

“I see.”

“Please, Professor. Keep them out of this. It’s going to be ugly anyway. Why make it worse?”

“I will use my discretion,”  Seteth promised. “However, Miss  Byleth will still come. I do not believe I could keep her behind.”

“I thought as much,” Sylvain muttered.

“Is there a problem between you two? I have noticed some tension recently.”

“I said something stupid and I don’t know what to do about it.”

“An apology goes a long way,” Seteth said, giving him a pointed look.

“That’s the thing. I don’t know if I should apologize. I meant what I said. I think. I  dunno .” Sylvain groaned, putting his head in his hands. “It was a heat of the moment kind of thing. Why am I telling you?”

“Because I’m your professor and I can talk you through a solution?”

“I guess,” Sylvain sighed. He turned one of the chairs around and sat in it. “I know I was being unfair to her. But she rubs me the wrong way.” He winked at  Seteth . “If she wanted to rub me the right way I wouldn’t refuse.”

Seteth frowned at him.

“Yeah, that was in bad taste. Sorry.” Sylvain ran his hands through his hair. “She grew up normal, not like me or the other Crested nobles. And I wish it had been me.” 

Seteth barked out a laugh, surprising himself. “Sorry, but you realize what an absurd statement you made? Byleth, the Ashen Demon, growing up normal? Her childhood was anything but. She made her first kill in her prepubescence. She’s been a mercenary for most of her life. That is not a normal upbringing.”

Sylvain gaped at his professor. “Oh. Shit. I’ve been a total dumbass, haven’t I?” He clapped his hands over his mouth. “Sorry! I’m so sorry. It slipped out. Please don’t give me detention.”

Seteth rubbed his temples. “I will overlook your language this once, provided you make amends with Miss Eisner. Additionally, I will meet with the other professors to see if we can borrow students from their classes to join us. We will be short on people otherwise.”

“Thank you, Professor. Really.” Sylvain stood up and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Um. If I need more advice, can I come to you?”

“I hope you do,”  Seteth told him. “I hate finding out from my students that you’ve been a nuisance.”

Sylvain chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry. I’ll do better.”

“See that you do, Sylvain. I won’t be so lenient next time.”

“Right. Um. Thanks again.” Sylvain waved awkwardly and left. 

Seteth sighed heavily, sinking back into his chair. “How should I approach this?”

*

“Hey, Flayn,” Sylvain greeted, walking over to her. 

“Stay away,” she warned. “I will not hesitate to strike you in self-defense.”

“Whoa there, tiger,” Sylvain chuckled, holding his hands out defensively. “I came to talk about our mission this month.”

Flayn regarded him suspiciously. “Should you not speak with my brother and Byleth?”

“I already did. This is something I need to ask you.” Sylvain kept his distance, waiting for her response.

Flayn narrowed her eyes at him. “If I dislike your question, I will speak with my brother about this.”

“I know.”

“What is your query?”

“First of all, I want you to know this isn’t because I doubt your capability. I have seen you fight and know you can do it. But I’m asking you not to this time. Please.”

“And why not?”

Sylvain inhaled and exhaled deeply, working up his nerve. “ Miklan ...he hurts people. Women, specifically.”

“Like you hurt women?”  Flayn retorted.

“I deserved that,” Sylvain muttered. “But no. I have never sexually touched a woman against her will. He has. And I don’t want him to do that to any of you. So please. Don’t come.”

“I see,”  Flayn said slowly. “Did my brother put you up to this?”

“No,” Sylvain said seriously. “I’m the one asking you. I know what he’s capable of. And I want to protect you from that.”

“Thank you for asking me. You have given me much to consider,”  Flayn said, nodding somberly. 

“I hope you don’t come, but if you do, I will not let him hurt you, I promise.”

“Good. I must be  going, it is time for lunch. I shall see you in class tomorrow.”

“See you,” Sylvain said. He kicked the ground. “Only one more person to talk to.”

*

Dragging his feet to  Byleth’s room, he softly knocked on the door. She opened it, saw who was there, and closed it again. Sylvain hit his head against the wood. “I deserved that,” he said loudly. “Would you believe me if I said I was sorry?”

“No,”  Byleth replied. 

“That’s fair,” he muttered. “Could you at least open the door so I can apologize properly?”

“I don’t know. Are you going to threaten me again?”

“Look, I know I’m a fuck-up. Hell, most of the monastery knows I am. And what I did was wrong. You gave me several outs and I didn’t take them. You were far more patient with me than I deserved. After the scolding Claude gave me, I took some time to think things over.” 

The door swung open and  Byleth stood akimbo before Sylvain, scowling. “He did what?”

“He told me off. Rightly so, I might add.”

“He didn’t say anything about that yesterday,” she muttered. “When will he quit poking his nose in my business?”

“To be fair, we were arguing in a public area.”

“Shut up.”

“Yes ma’am,” Sylvain said meekly. He waited for her permission to speak again. “Anyway, I talked to  Seteth today and he made me realize I had assumed things incorrectly.”

“So? Just because you thought something was true doesn’t make it okay to behave badly.”

“You’re right,” he conceded. “And that is why I want to apologize. Claude made a very valid point when he chewed me out, and I want to change. I don’t want to be like my brother. And I behaved a little like him yesterday. I’m sorry. You don’t have to forgive me or trust me, but know I wish I could take back what I said and did.”

Byleth nodded. “That’s a start. You are going to have to prove you can change.”

“I know. That’s why I asked  Seteth to make an all-guy team to take  Miklan down. To protect you all from what he’s like.”

“I can handle myself.”

“I would never forgive myself if  Miklan managed to get his hands on you or anyone else.”

“I’ve had men try to assault me before.”  Byleth coolly began digging dirt out under her fingernails with her dagger. “Those men learned why you shouldn’t treat a woman that way.”

“And if you feel like you should be there, I won’t stop you. I wish you would reconsider.”

Byleth met his eyes and he shivered at the steely gaze. “I won’t let you go alone, Sylvain. You might think this is your burden to bear, but it will be lighter with others to help you carry it. Besides, someone like him has to be stopped.” She sheathed her dagger and stood up straight. “Trust me when I say I enjoy putting men like that in the ground. You wouldn’t deny me of my fun, would you?”

Sylvain opened and shut his mouth. “Just...be careful.”

“It’s you I’m worried about,” she said, patting him on the shoulder. “Now shoo. I’m packing.”

“You were going to come even before I apologized?”

“Of course. You’re an asshole, but you’re ours. The Deer take care of each other.”

“Right. I’ll see you in class, I guess.” Sylvain began to leave. 

“You will. And Sylvain?” 

He stopped, turning around to look at her. “Yeah?”

“You need to find someone to talk to. All that pent-up rage will destroy you the way it has your brother.”

He smiled. “I already have.”

“Good.”

*

Claude leaned over the roof and watch Sylvain leave. “Interesting.” He heard the squeak of a door opening and scrambled back to remain hidden.

Byleth stepped out from under the overhang and looked up. “I know you’re there, Claude. Get down before you hurt yourself.”

He sheepishly stood up. “How did you know?”

“Your shadow. Honestly, it’s like you  want me to catch you sneaking around.”

“Maybe I do,” he mumbled to himself. 

“What?”

“I said, I’ll show you!” Claude grinned and clambered down from the roof. “One day, just watch. I’ll finally manage to surprise you.”

“We’ll see,”  Byleth said. “But please don’t climb up on the roof. Especially not before we leave for an important mission.”

“You got it, Teach.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Updates will be slower since I'm working on a fic in a completely different fandom, but I didn't want to leave you all hanging. 
> 
> Byleth: Sylvain, you need a therapist  
> Sylvain: Already on it :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conand Tower and the aftermath

Linhardt huffed and puffed as he made his way up the tower stairs. “Never again,” he wheezed. “No matter what anyone promises me.”

“What was that, Linhardt?” asked Claude, skipping back to check on their healer. He slung one of the monk’s arms around his shoulders, helping Linhardt walk the rest of the way up to the next floor. 

“Nothing,” Linhardt muttered. 

“Hang in there. We’re almost to the top,” Claude encouraged. Linhardt groaned, dragging his feet.

“Quiet,” instructed Seteth. “Sir Gilbert will remain behind us to act as a rearguard. Ashe, you and Yuri find and disable any traps in the way.”

“What about treasure?” Yuri asked, smirking. 

“Any gold you find goes to the church. Weapons are to be distributed to those who can use them.”

“Got it.” Yuri smiled. 

“Lorenz, Raphael, Balthus, and Sylvain, you’ll be in the front. Don’t be reckless, please.”

“And me?” asked  Byleth quietly.

“You’re to protect our healer and archers.”

She nodded.  Seteth looked each one of his students in their faces. “These ruffians are smarter and better organized than ones you’ve fought before. Do not underestimate them. Do not take on multiple opponents without backup. Do stay alive.”

With grim determination, the students armed up and prepared for a difficult fight.

*

Sylvain faced  Miklan as the older man taunted him. “Guess you weren’t needed after all,”  Miklan sneered. “I can use the Lance as well as you.”

“You do not understand the power you are meddling with,”  Seteth said. 

“Shut up, old man! I finally have the chance to take what should have been mine all along! I won’t let you or anyone else stop me.”

“I never wanted this,” Sylvain yelled. “You know I gladly would have given it to you if I could.”

“It’s too late,”  Miklan said. “For you, that is.”

Raising the Lance of Ruin, the older Gautier began to lunge forward. He found his strike blocked by a sword. “Surrender,”  Byleth said quietly. “And I’ll make this painless.”

Miklan laughed. “Whose  bitch are you? Or do you spread your legs for anyone who shows interest?” Stone-faced, Byleth pushed  Miklan back. He continued to yell insults at  Byleth .

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Sylvain snarled. 

“Oh? Is she your girlfriend, little brother?”  Miklan’s eyes raked over  Byleth’s body. “I’ll have to take her away from you too. And I’ll enjoy it.”

Byleth’s eyes narrowed and she swung at  Miklan , cracking the whip at his legs. She pulled, knocking him off balance. “Touch me and I’ll cut off your hands.”

Miklan threw back his head and cackled madly. “What can you do? With this Lance, I’m invincible! I can destroy you all!” As he continued talking, a black ooze flowed from the Relic up his arm. 

“ Miklan !” Sylvain yelled, alarmed. 

“Stay back,”  Seteth instructed. “This is what happens when you wield a Relic without the right Crest.”

“You knew?” Claude asked, eyes widening in horror as  Miklan changed into a large monster. 

“Later, von Riegan,”  Seteth said. “We have a bigger problem to face.”

Balthus and Raphael pulled their shields off their backs and guarded the others as  Seteth barked orders. “Those armed with battalions, bring them to the front! We must break the monster’s armor before we can pierce it with weapons.”

Byleth and Claude nodded at each other, racing forward to distract the beast as Lorenz, Sylvain, and Yuri sent their battalions out to engage it. Felix fought alongside Sylvain, guarding him from attacks in his weak spots. Ashe broke the armor with a well-placed arrow. The students converged on the beast, swiftly ending its misery. It thrashed; its death throes knocking stone pillars loose. 

“Look out!” Sylvain warned, shoving  Byleth away from the path of a large slab falling down. Claude grasped his elbow and yanked him backwards. 

“Watch yourself,” Claude said. They looked towards the body of the beast only to find it had returned to  Miklan’s shape. 

“I’m going to be sick,” Sylvain said, leaning over the wall and retching. 

“Do you want me to carry the Lance for you?” Byleth asked him quietly. 

“No,” he said, wiping his face. “I’ll do it.” He forced a grin. “Wouldn’t want your lovely self to end up like that.”

Byleth titled her head, her brows narrowing in sympathy. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. My old man would hate it if I let anyone else handle it.” Sylvain walked over to the Relic and shakily grasped it. It glowed in his hand, the color of rust and blood. Sylvain quickly strapped it to his back, wiping his hands clean. 

They marched home in silence.

*

Seteth stood before Rhea with his class behind him. Sylvain held the Lance of Ruin tightly.  Byleth clenched her fists. 

“I asked you all here for one purpose,” Lady Rhea began. “You must keep the events at  Conand Tower a secret. People would panic if they learned the truth about the wrath of the Goddess. Our social structure would collapse due to mistrust of Crests and Relics.” She reached out a hand to Sylvain. “May I have the Lance?”

He bowed jerkily. “Forgive me, Archbishop, but my father wants this delivered as soon as possible. He will not permit anyone else to handle this.”

She gazed upon him, her eyes glinting with strange malice. “Very well. See it does not fall into wayward hands.”

“Believe me, I have learned my lesson,” Sylvain replied tightly. 

“Excuse me, Lady Rhea?”  Byleth interrupted tersely. “Will we all share in that fate?”

“No, child. As long as you share the compatible Crest to your Relic, you need not fear such a transformation.”

Byleth’s mouth tightened, unsatisfied with the explanation. “And the Crest stone,” Claude added. “Right?”

“Yes. Relics do not work without them.”

All eyes turned to  Byleth and the Sword of the Creator, questioning. Lady Rhea quickly changed the subject. “Remember, those who spread word of what happened will be punished. You are dismissed.”

Byleth looked at the Relic hanging from her hip. Claude tapped her shoulder. “Come to the library with me?”

She nodded. “Why is the Crest stone missing?” she whispered quietly. 

“I don’t know. That’s one of the mysteries I have been investigating.”

“And the others?”  Byleth asked curiously. 

He winked at her. “I can’t tell you all my secrets, my friend.”

“You don’t tell me any of them, Claude,”  Byleth replied flatly.

He laughed. Another voice joined them. “Why do you keep your secrets so close, hmm?” Edelgard leaned forward into their line of vision, staring up at Claude suspiciously.

“A secret for a secret,” Claude replied smoothly. “You’re bound to have one or two I haven’t uncovered.”

She smirked at him. “Fine. Who are you really, Claude von Riegan? You appeared out of thin air in a very timely manner to maintain balance at the Roundtable.”

“It’s common knowledge, Edelgard,”  Byleth reminded her. “That’s not a secret.”

Claude shrugged, putting his hands behind his head nonchalantly. “It seems Teach isn’t the only dangerous flower around.” He smiled slyly at Edelgard. “Do you have thorns? Or poison?”

She scowled at him. He winked back. Claude turned around to face his walking companions and declared, “We’re all here because we want something. I want power to make my dreams become a reality. If you help me, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Sorry, Claude. As tempting as your offer is, I have my own goals to attend to.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “How about you, Teach?”

Byleth thought seriously before answering, “I’ll support anyone with a noble cause, as long as it’s for the betterment of all.”

Claude blinked at her, surprised. A pleased smile stretched across his face and his eyes shone with happiness. “That’s good to know,” he replied.

Edelgard stayed quiet, studying both of them.

*

Seteth pounded on  Jeralt’s door. “Captain!”

“He’s out,”  Byleth said, turning the corner. “I checked when we got back.”  Byleth narrowed her eyes at  Seteth . “What’s wrong?”

“It’s  Flayn . She’s missing.”

“Are you sure? She could be out. We did only just return from our mission.”

“Her bed has not been used for some time,”  Seteth said frantically. “She always tidies up when she wakes.”

“And she’s not being lazy because you’re gone?”  Byleth asked. 

“ Byleth !”  Seteth cried, grabbing her by the shoulders. “I know her.  Flayn is not here.”

“All right. I believe you. Let’s go find her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to write. I've struggled to bridge the gap between events. Also, I'm trying to hurry the plot along to more interesting moments and the story does not want to be rushed. I'm not done with this, just really worn out overall. So I'm going slow but steady.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going on a Flayn hunt

Sylvain leaned against the Dining Room wall, wallowing in guilt. “I shouldn’t have asked her to stay behind,” he muttered. “She’d still be here if it weren’t for me.”

“Sylvain? What’s wrong?” Ingrid asked. “Worrying about Flayn?”

He flashed her a fake grin and shrugged. “I’m just thinking about possible reasons behind her disappearance. Maybe she found true love and eloped.”

Ingrid smacked him upside the head. “You’re awful, Sylvain!” She stomped off, fuming at his insensitivity.

“Ow,” he winced, rubbing the sore spot. “I deserved that.”

“Deserved what?” Byleth asked, walking over to him.

Sylvain explained what happened and Byleth raised an eyebrow. “Is that possible?” she asked, sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

“I don’t know! It was just a suggestion,” he said, exasperated. He blinked at her. “Was that sarcasm?”

“Slow on the uptake today, are we?” Byleth asked. “Since Seteth is beside himself with worry, I’m taking over class for a while. At least until we find Flayn. He’s planned out this month, anyway.”

“I’ll help you with anything you need,” Sylvain replied. He winked. “Anything.”

“I have it covered,” Byleth said flatly. “See you in class tomorrow.”

She walked away and Sylvain smacked his face. “I really need to find a better coping mechanism.”

*

“As soon as we find Flayn, we are leaving,” Seteth hissed at Rhea. “How could you not have noticed she was missing for three days? I trusted you to take care of her!”

“I did watch over her, Seteth. I can’t hover over her shoulder every minute like you. I have other priorities,” Rhea said coldly. “And I am concerned. However, we can do little at the moment.”

“It didn’t occur to you to ask where she was?” Seteth roared. His voice echoed down the hall and people walking by flinched. “She is family, Rhea! You should have guarded her with your life!”

“Then you should have taken her with you instead of leaving her with me.”

“Don’t worry,” Seteth spat. “I won’t make that mistake again.” He swept out of the Audience Chamber, his cape trailing behind him like a stormy wind.

Rhea sighed, sitting on her throne with a heavy expression. “Where could she have gone? Mother, I need you now.”

*

Byleth wore herself out talking to every person in the monastery. She hid herself in her room to think.

“Such a fuss over one person,” Sothis observed.

“You’ve been awfully quiet lately,” Byleth snapped.

“You have been wearing me out by using my energies to keep your classmates out of danger.”

“Sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“It is of no consequence. For now, let us aggregate the data we have gathered.”

“I wish I understood why someone would harm someone as kind as Flayn,” Byleth said, clenching her fist. “When I find those responsible, I will make them pay.”

*

“Find anything, Teach?” Claude asked, sliding into the bench next to her.

Byleth shook her head. “I’ve heard rumors and suspicions, but nothing concrete.”

“I might have something to share,” he said, spearing his pheasant with his fork. He offered her a bite. She shook her head, choosing to tear up her dinner roll.

“Go on,” she encouraged, elbowing him lightly in the side. “Don’t leave me in suspense.”

“The Wolves have heard strange sounds in the night, like people chanting. They’re going to check it out.”

“Not without backup, they’re not,” Byleth muttered. “I’ll talk to Yuri after lunch.”

Claude narrowed his eyes. “Alone?”

“I assumed you were coming with me,” she said, chewing on her food. “You are class leader, after all.”

His eyes widened and he ducked his head to hide his expression, bringing food to his mouth. Hastily, he swallowed his mouthful and wiped his chin. “Right.” He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t sure if I was invited, seeing how Yuri prefers to meet one-on-one.”

Byleth glanced sideways at him. “That never stopped you from eavesdropping before.”

He laughed softly. “Got me there, Teach.”

“What do you know about Jeritza?” Byleth asked suddenly, pursing her lips in thought.

“Nothing, really.” Claude frowned. “Rhea doesn’t vet her employees too well, does she?”

“I think Seteth handles the hiring, actually. And Jeritza did have glowing recommendations from the Empire.”

“Huh.” Claude slowly sipped his drink, thoughts racing in his head. “Why are you asking about him, anyway?”

“Apparently he’s been going out at night. Felix mentions he’s been handling his sword differently in their sparring.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Claude interrupted, confused.

Byleth gave him an incredulous look. “The way a swordsman fights tells you everything!”

“I apologize for my ignorance,” Claude chuckled. “And what does Jeritza’s weapon tell Felix?”

“He’s antsy about something,” Byleth murmured. “That, combined with his frequent trips in the dark, leads me to believe he’s up to something.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s involved with Flayn,” Claude pointed out.

“True,” Byleth nodded. “But it’s worth checking out, don’t you think?”

Claude agreed, once again offering Byleth his food. She rolled her eyes and took a small bite. He smirked in victory.

*

“Have you seen Manuela?” Dorothea asked Byleth, fretting. “She missed choir practice today. It’s unlike her.”

“I haven’t,” Byleth said. “I’ll ask around.”

“Thanks, Byleth,” Dorothea said gratefully. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to her too.”

“Are you two close?” Byleth asked.

Dorothea widened her eyes, surprised. “Didn’t you know? We were at Mittlefrank together. She’s like an older sister to me.”

Byleth nodded, glad to finally understand their relationship. “She taught you everything you know then.”

“Practically,” Dorothea said, smiling. “Which is why I’m worried. She never misses an opportunity to exercise her voice.”

“Don’t worry, Dorothea. I’m sure she’s fine,” Byleth replied, putting a comforting hand on the songstress’s arm.

“I hope so,” Dorothea said, frowning. “Things have been awfully strange this year, haven’t they?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Me either.”

*

A loud scream pierced the air. Byleth’s head snapped in the direction of the noise. She took off in a sprint, yelling for her classmates to arm up. Right outside the Knights’ quarters, Byleth stopped. She drew her sword, peering around the corner of the entrance. Now was not the time to be caught unawares. Familiar footsteps pattered the ground as her fellow Deer caught up. Byleth began inspecting each door, signaling the others to do the same.

“Has anyone fetched Seteth?” Byleth asked quietly. “If it’s about Flayn, he will want to know.”

“I told Baltie to bring Seteth and anyone else he could find,” Hilda replied. “I know I’ll feel better with big strong men to protect us.”

Claude put a finger to his mouth. “Someone is inside Professor Jeritza’s room. I hear painful gasping.”

“I’m going in,” Byleth told Claude. “Cover me.” She swiftly slinked around the doorway into the room. Manuela lay supine on the floor, one hand pressed against a bleeding wound. Her other arm stretched out, pointing to a dark corner. “She’s unconscious,” Byleth said, checking Manuela’s vitals. “Marianne, you and Claude take her to the infirmary. The rest of you investigate the room.”

“Why me?” Claude asked.

“You know poisons. I trust you to make sure Manuela is free of any taint.”

He nodded grimly and waited for Marianne to stabilize Manuela before lifting her body up and carrying her out. Ignatz’s sharp eyes saw the shadows hid a passageway.

“She was pointing to this,” he said, using a candle to light the darkened area.

“It’s a secret passage!” Hilda exclaimed. “How many more are there?”

“I could do with fewer, myself,” said Yuri’s smooth voice as he stepped into the room. “You rang?”

“We don’t know what’s down there,” Byleth said. “I need people with healing abilities and thief classifications. I will also require one or two mages. Everyone else should stay here and guard the room.”

“I’m coming,” Balthus said seriously. “Whoever hurt Manuela has to pay.”

“Very well,” Byleth said. “Leonie, Lorenz, send Seteth down after us as soon as you can. Let’s get these bastards and find Flayn.” She set her chin determinedly and divided her classmates by who would stay and who would go.

“Freckles and Spiky should come,” Hapi volunteered. “Oh, and Braids.”

“Spiky?” Byleth asked Yuri, confused. He shrugged.

“I shall fetch them posthaste,” Constance volunteered. “Anyone else I should bring?”

“Mercedes,” Byleth replied immediately. “Since Marianne is helping with Manuela, a strong healer would be an asset.”

“Very well. I shall return quickly.”

“We’re going down,” Byleth said. “Send Constance and the other four down after us as well. Ignatz, you’ll have to cover me. Can you do that?”

He nodded. “I won’t be afraid.”

“Good. Lysithea, stay with me.”

The small girl flexed her fingers and grinned eerily. “I’ve been practicing a new spell and can’t wait to try it out.”

“Maybe hold back on that one if it’s too lethal,” Byleth advised. “Wouldn’t want to cause the ceiling to crash down on us.”

“Fine,” she grumbled. “But if the Death Knight is there, I won’t be responsible for what happens after.”

“I can live with that,” Byleth muttered. Holding a torch aloft, Byleth began walking down the dark cavernous steps into unexplored territory. “Be careful. I want everyone to return unscathed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to pace myself and not burn out so updates will probably be once a week for a while. Enjoy!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes brave an underground maze to rescue a fish-loving friend.

Drip, drip, drop. Drip, drip, drop. Lysithea drew closer to Byleth, bothered by the eerie noise of the underground cavern. A small droplet of water splashed on her nose. She muffled a shriek. “Awfully wet down here, isn’t it?” Byleth murmured. “We must be under the pond.”

“Hooray,” Hapi said sarcastically. “I’ve always wanted to drown.”

Byleth held a finger to her lips. “We don’t want to alert anyone of our presence.”

“A bit late for that, don’t you think Chatterbox? Surely they heard Manuela scream.”

“They may have heard Manuela, but we might be a surprise. And I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Fine,” Hapi muttered. “We’ll do it your way.”

Eventually the dark stairway ended at a dimly lit chamber. Byleth poked her head out enough to peek into the room. She retreated, frowning. “There are strange people in there,” she said. “I did not see Flayn, but I sense a dark presence ahead.”

*

Petra, Ashe, and Felix stole through the back way as instructed, disarming traps and opening locked doors. Ashe dealt with the heavily armored knight with his axe. Felix made the killing blow with his armor slayer sword. Petra managed to shoot down two hiding archers before the three were spotted.

“Let’s hope this is the last door,” Ashe whispered, picking the lock. Felix peeked inside and hissed out a curse when he saw the awaiting ambush. He held his arm out to keep the other two behind him. “Split up,” he said quietly. “We’ve got trouble.”

Ashe nocked an arrow and went left. Petra stole to the right, keeping to the shadows. Felix drew attention to himself, clanging his sword on his shield. “Cowards, ganging up on teenagers,” he taunted.

The mounted knights turned their horses towards Felix and rushed him. Ashe loosed an arrow, striking one knight in the neck. Choking, the knight slumped forward onto his horse’s neck and slid off. Petra whispered apologies as she hamstrung the horse on the right. The mount stumbled, allowing Petra to leap onto its back and slit the knight’s throat. Felix quickly dispatched the remaining archer.

Panting heavily, Ashe wiped his forehead. “Please be the last of them,” he prayed.

Petra examined the lever in the middle of the room. She tested it before pulling it towards her. They heard mechanical grinding and looked around to see what had been triggered. “Those tiles on the floor, are they not glowing?” she asked, pointing.

“It must turn them on. Should we see where they lead?” Ashe asked.

“We’ll work our way in. One of them has to lead to Flayn,” Felix said. He stepped on the first tile on the left and felt the unpleasant tingling of a warp spell. Instantly, a mage in black shot Miasma at him. Another mage used fire. “Fuck.” Felix ducked and rolled, making his way to the healing tile.

“Something happened,” Ashe said anxiously. “Felix isn’t back.”

“Felix has much strength. He will survive,” Petra said confidently, stepping on the first tile on the right. She returned after a few minutes, holding her prize. “This weapon will prove useful, I think.”

Ashe nervously stepped on the next tile over from Petra. He gasped and Petra heard him through the wall. “Ashe, I am believing you are in a hidden room behind me.”

His shaky voice replied, “I’m thinking you’re right. Looks like it’s a chest ahead. Go test another tile.”

Petra moved to the last of the upper tiles and warped to a different place. She saw another lever and pulled on it. Ashe’s voice shouted nearby, panicked. “Petra! I can’t warp back!”

“My apologies, Ashe!” she called. “I must have turned it off. Wait a moment.” Petra pushed the lever back to its original position and returned to the central room.

Ashe met her there. “We should check on Felix.”

They heard a familiar whoosh as a warp was triggered. A bedraggled Felix stomped off the tile. “No need,” he groused. “I took care of it.” He scowled at a singe mark on his sleeve.

“We only have two more tiles to check,” Ashe told him.

“I’ll take the next one. You take the last one,” Felix replied. “Run into any trouble?”

Petra shook her head. “We found chests of treasure, but no enemies.”

“Aren’t you lucky,” he said sardonically. He stepped onto the middle tile and vanished.

Ashe smiled at Petra tiredly. “If I don’t come back in a couple minutes, come after me, okay?”

“Of course,” she said.

*

Felix found himself behind his other classmates. Mercedes saw his haggard state and rushed over with healing magic glowing in her hand. He shrugged her off. “I’m fine. Where’s Byleth?”

“I’m here. What have you found?” Byleth asked, striding purposefully over to him.

“I found a small room of mages. Petra and Ashe found some treasure. That tile leads to a central warp room.”

“It didn’t work before when I tested it,” Ignatz protested.

“It had to be turned on,” Felix informed him. “It works now.”

“I see,” Ignatz stammered, pushing his glasses up on his nose. Felix unnerved Ignatz with his dour demeanor.

“Do you know what’s on the other side of these doors?” Byleth asked Felix.

“No.”

She nodded and turned to Constance. “Can you cast Bolting on anyone nearby?”

“But of course!” crowed the blonde mage. “As a matter of fact, there is an armored knight nearby.”

“Take him out,” Byleth said. “Yuri, you and Felix work on those doors.”

“You got it,” winked the lavender-haired thief.

The two made quick work of the locks and pushed the double doors open. Felix recognized the gate on the left. “I was in that room. Nothing but dead mages now.”

“We move to the next gate then,” Byleth commanded. She jumped back, an arrow hitting the stones before her feet. “Hapi, can you handle the archer?”

“Duh,” Hapi scoffed. She began sketching the sigil for Banshee. Yuri picked the gate lock while Hapi casted at the archer.

“How many more rooms is in this place, you reckon?” Balthus asked. “Seems like we’ve been all over.”

“There can’t be many more,” Lysithea said. “This area is not that large.”

They filed through the gate warily. “Byleth!” Ashe shouted, happy to reunite with the others. “Thank the Goddess you’re here.”

He and Petra sustained shallow cuts and burns to their body. Mercedes fussed over them as she healed their minor wounds. “I hope you got them more than they got you,” Balthus said, slapping Ashe on the shoulder. He winced.

“Y-yeah,” he said. Six bodies littered the chamber. “There’s a door at the end, but we haven’t opened it yet.”

“Good,” Byleth replied. “Something dangerous is there.” She drew her sword and beckoned the others to follow. Byleth pointed to Ashe and then the door. He understood she meant for him to pick the lock.

His hands shook as he slid the first tumbler. Petra slid into the space beside him and wordlessly handed him another pick. Feeling more confident he nodded his thanks to her and finally popped the lock open. He stepped back, giving Byleth room to swing her sword.

The other enemies were forgotten at the first sight of the Death Knight. “Lysithea, now!” Byleth yelled, holding the mages and cavalier back.

Everyone moved away from the tiny terror as waves of power flared around her. Lysithea shifted her stance and threw Dark Spikes at the skeletal man. He grunted as her magic sank into him.

“Kill them,” he intoned.

A masked figure warped into the room. “Not today.”

“You’re in the way,” the Death Knight growled.

“Play later. We have other work to do.”

“Very well.” He warped out of the room.

The masked figure turned to Byleth and the others. “I am the Flame Emperor. I am going to burn out this world’s corruption and from its ashes grow a new age. When that time comes, will you join me? Or will my cleansing fire consume you as well?” With that cryptic statement, the figure vanished.

“That was anticlimactic,” Hapi muttered.

“Flayn!” Ignatz exclaimed, rushing forward. Her massive green curled pooled around her head as she lay sprawled on the floor. “Mercedes, come over here!”

“Who is that next to Flayn?” Ashe asked, peering around Balthus.

“Dunno. But we should get these ladies outta here.” Balthus scooped up the other girl and let Byleth carry Flayn out of the dank chamber.

*

“Thank the Goddess they’re alive,” Marianne whispered.

“And Manuela?” Balthus asked, furrowing his brow.

“She’ll pull through,” Claude replied. “That was a nasty knife wound, though. Never seen one like that before.”

“How many stab wounds have you seen?” Lorenz asked.

“On or off the battlefield?” Claude quipped.

“Not now, you guys,” Hilda retorted. “These two need the infirmary.”

Byleth gave Flayn to Raphael and stayed behind to chat with Claude. “They escaped.”

“For now,” he replied. “But we’ll stop them next time.”

“You think they’ll strike again?”

“Absolutely. It’s not a case of if, it’s when.”

“I think so too,” Byleth murmured.

“Still, we found Flayn. Seteth will be thrilled.”

“Yeah,” Byleth said softly, smiling gently.

“Huh,” Claude said.

“What?”

“That mask of yours finally shattered. I’m glad I was the one lucky enough to see your real smile. It’s radiant.”

“Really?” Byleth asked, surprised.

“Really.” Claude grinned at her. “I hope you share your smile more often with all of us. Now come on. Let’s tell Seteth the good news.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's alive! (And so am I!)
> 
> Finally got past that block and hope to have another chapter up in a week or two. I think I'm going to try alternating weeks as a regular schedule. 
> 
> Did you notice a throwback to an earlier Claude/Byleth conversation?
> 
> Comments are greatly appreciated.


End file.
